Night without Day
by depressedchildren
Summary: Sasuke never expected to have the children he dreamed of as a genin, nor would he have expected the peace he felt. Yet all good things must come to an end. Hardship after hardship and the family he built in Middle Earth is quickly sucked into the struggles between the free peoples and the Eye in the East. It will be a long Night without Day. Sequel to "The Tale of Day and Night"
1. Chapter 1: Seperation

_**Full Summary: **_Sasuke never expected to have the children he had dreamed of as a genin, nor would he have expected the peace he felt, with _her _of all people. But there they were; the happy, "perfect" family. Yet all good things must come to an end. Hardship after hardship befell them, and the family he built in Middle Earth was breaking apart. At his wit's end, Sasuke has no choice but to be sucked into the struggles of the free peoples against the Power in the East. The sun has set, and night has taken over indefinitely. _**Warnings: **_OC's, character death (not a likable character), gender-bending.

_**A/N:**_ This is a sequel to "The Tale of Day and Night," if any readers are not familiar with it, reading that first would be extremely beneficial to reader comprehension and acceptance of the fic. That being said, this is the first chapter in the sequel which really is just a continuation of the previous fanfic – but diverging to exclude "Nature's Daughter."

Also I took some of the dialogue from the book, if you think its boring blame Tolkien (I don't think it is but then again I love the character development revealed through the dialogue). I condensed and summarized sections and rearranged ordering. If I don't write a scene assume its the same as in the book or just assume the dialogue is the same. Anyways, enjoy ~ with love, depressedchildren

Key:

"Text" westron language

_"Text"_ either japanese or sindarin

_Kusanagi_ a name/title (i.e. _Prancing Pony_)

* * *

_Chapitre un_

* * *

_**3017 August, 28**_

Dawn shuddered at the wave of malicious chakra, the Kyuubi's chakra. Her sisters felt it too and they held tightly to their Ojisan. Haldarad shifted beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder; the fifteen-year-old sank into his side and sighed in relief at the comfort he provided. Ojisan watched them critically from where he sat in the rocking chair by the fireplace. He turned away, which caused Haldarad to relax and hold onto her more closely.

The twins were leaning against Ojisan's legs, their arms wrapped around him as if to prevent him from leaving them. They looked more like girls of eight or nine years than thirteen-almost-fourteen. Their eyes were so wide and with each surge of demonic chakra they shuddered and clutched tighter to Ojisan's pant legs.

Kaasan had deteriorated further and further with each passing month. She seemed to fear that the baby would die, and like a self-fulfilling prophecy it had. Ojisan tried to cheer her up; he sang to her in sindarin and visited every day. Tousan had been so supportive, so gentle, and caring yet Kaasan continued to doubt and fear. They had all watched as she slowly grew paler, thinner, sleepier…sadder.

It was exhausting, haunting, and terrible on all of them. Each day became more and more difficult to get through. Kaasan was not meant to be sad, was not meant to be so defeatist. And Dawn knew part of her mother's illness was from her regrets and lost chance at real-true love. Dawn let out a shuddering breath and turned her body into Haldarad's loose embrace. She could not bear to be torn from Haldarad, how had Kaasan lasted so long from her true-love…

It was difficult to think of her mother being in love with anyone but their father, but then, Dawn knew her parents did not love each other. Though…in the past months Dawn wasn't so sure if the dislike was reciprocal anymore. Tousan…he looked so pained, and for the past few days he looked hopeless, helpless. He was as defeated as Kaasan. He was even starting to lose sleep and he was growing paler.

In the preceding months she had caught her father muttering to himself, as if he was reviewing some scroll in his mind. He would wring his hands and rub his face tiredly. She even caught him one day asking in a small voice: O_kaasan what do I do? Onii-san I need you, your guidance._ Most chilling of all, she had heard him mutter what they all had been thinking: _What if she dies, of Gods, what if she dies…_

Dawn felt tears prick her eyes as her throat began to tighten. She gasped in some air and buried her face in Haldarad's chest. He smelled like earth and dried leaves. Normally, it was comforting but the fear of losing her mother gripped her heart like an icy hand. She felt so cold, and so sick with fear. She had mostly forgiven her mother for abandoning them and they had just started to repair their relationship when the miscarriage happened. Now her mother lost this new baby and…and Dawn wasn't sure if she would have a mother after tonight.

Kaasan had awoken in the middle of the night about two weeks ago. She had been panicking and then she began screaming. It woke all of them up and Dawn watched with her sisters as Tousan tried to calm their mother down.

But Kaasan had been screaming at him and crying, crying so hard she could hardly breathe. She had kept clutching at her stomach, and her body had shook so violently with each sob. She had kept slapping Tousan's hands away, so that eventually Tousan had to force her back down onto the bed.

The horror, the hopelessness in Kaasan's voice still haunted Dawn… _I can't feel the baby anymore. It's not moving!_ And Tousan, when he had checked on the baby, his expression became so shut off but the pain was clear in his eyes. He had told Dawn to take her sisters and go back to bed. Before she had left, she had seen him crying with Kaasan as they held onto each other and mourned the lost life.

Now, now Kaasan was going through labor for a dead child. Two weeks and a day she carried the dead baby inside of her. It broke Dawn's heart, it broke all of their hearts. It was now, more than ever they feared she would die on them. For the past two weeks, Kaasan had just sat in bed with her arms around her large stomach as she asked why it had to die, over and over again. Tousan couldn't reach her, she shut him out along with everyone else, and she began crying herself to sleep.

It was too cruel for words.

...

Sasuke watched Naruto in the middle of the array sob and curse the demon inside of her. The beast was too opportunistic not to take a chance at freedom. No matter how emotionally distraught his host was, and perhaps that was the fox's plan all along. No, he wouldn't think like that, he had to stay level headed.

Sasuke had tried sedating the Kyuubi multiple times with his sharingan but it was for naught, he lost in concentration every time the blonde made a noise. He could easily imagine her dying, yet he knew the dobe was stronger than that, Naruto was stronger than that…she had to be.

The dead child was fully expelled from her body now, and the dobe had not stopped yelling at the fox - who was still desperately trying to escape while the seal was still weak. There was no attempt at swaddling the baby; it lay on the ground rotting in its birthing fluids. Sasuke couldn't bear to look at it, and neither could the dobe. Her screaming deteriorated into sobs.

Why did this have to happen to them? Why? He knew this was normal for other women – losing children that is. He also knew that it was common for women to die in child birth, he should be happy the dobe had not died yet. Yet…yet this wasn't right, it was…it was cruel. He never would have wished this pain upon the dobe before, even when the blonde was a thorn in his side and ruining Sasuke's plans.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer to whatever deity would listen, _please Naruto, make it through the coming months._

* * *

_**3017 September, 18**_

Aragorn was troubled by many things: the apparent disappearance of Gollum – if the missives he received rang true – from Mirkwood, the long absence of Gandalf the Grey, and most importantly the once bubbly blonde and wife of one he could consider a brother.

Often when women underwent such states of melancholy, it was best to leave them alone; yet, his friend continued day after day to try and coax his wife from their bed. It was best to be shut away from delights that could overexcite one of such a fragile state. Aragorn's thought came to a halt as Minnuial rushed into the house, a bundle of yellow flowers in her hands; it was St John's Wort if he was not mistaken.

The ranger frowned as the blacksmith went about preparing the herb. Minuial twisted and moved about anxiously. The young woman could never stay still. Aragorn sighed as Sasuke began to move toward his bedchambers.

"Friend, is not it best to leave women in a melancholy state alone?"

The man turned to him sharply with sneer distorting his features. He seemed angered by Aragorn's suggestion, but more than that, he seemed to think it was ridiculous.

"That is the worst thing to do to someone with depression. You do not lock someone in a room with their thoughts when it's the thoughts troubling them," the blacksmith sighed and rubbed tiredly at his face. "Look, I know you Middle Earthlings don't know much about the mind and these things, but just trust me that I know what I'm doing. I know you're trying to help and…thank you," Sasuke sighed and continued on his way.

Aragorn frowned. He often forgot that these people knew much more than he about illnesses and healing them. So often he saw their skills as warriors more than their skills as healers, even the girls were being trained in healing wounds. Aragorn knew they came from some sort of advanced society that had magical devices, yet seeing them in this setting made him forget. Though it might also have been due to the fantastical nature of the devices he gleaned from his friend's grumblings. Truly, lightning from the sky used to light up a room with a simple touch of a triggering device. It was astounding and fantastical.

Minuial stood beside him with her hand on his arm as she tried to give him an encouraging smile, _"Father did not mean to seem angry,"_ Aragorn nodded, he understood this. They were all anxious about the blonde's health, and Sasuke had apologized in his own way.

Sasuke was shaking his head, he really should not be angry with the ranger, the man truly did not know any better, but damn it! Sasukee was struggling, truly he was. Part of him just wanted to give up, but he couldn't do that. The dobe wasn't meant to be like this, it was disturbing and it made him feel like the world was going to fall apart at any moment. Uzumaki Naruto, or perhaps she was now Uchiha Naruto – strange he had never thought of that once, they had had no surname when they got married – regardless, the blonde was not meant to be depressed and each passing day her condition worsened. It was terrifying, in its own way.

Sasuke opened the door and peered into the room. It smelled of stale air and he could hear the dobe breathing - that was good at least. He hoped this natural anti-depressant would kick in soon, though Sasuke did not put it past the demon to reject the chemicals as they came in. Sasuke had not been sure if the herb was safe while the dobe was pregnant so he refrained from using it, but now part of him wanted to have risked it if it would mean she'd be healthier.

Shaking his head, Sasuke set the herb mixture at the foot of the bed and moved toward the window. He pulled it back and let the autumn wind enter the house. He then noticed in the wane moonlight that the dobe was wide-awake. If not for her slowly rising chest he would have thought her dead.

"_Naruto…"_ she was so thin, she had started to refuse all the food he gave her, he even tried making ramen in hopes that she would eat. It wasn't the same, there was no way to make miso broth but he could make a chicken broth variation. Still, it was all in vain.

He didn't like how-how helpless he felt at the moment. He didn't know what he could at this point. Would a genjutsu snap her out of it? Or would it make her worse? He wanted to scream, to rage, to shake the blonde until she returned to normal. But then he looked at her pale, almost skeletal form on the bed and hopelessness filled him. What was he supposed to do? He was hardly a medic, and not at all a psychologist. He knew he was fucked up mentally and that in itself suggested he should not help the dobe with her mental issues.

Sasuke did not like this. He hated being so-so useless. All he could do was watch as the dobe withered away before his eyes. She was leaving them all over again, but in much more permanent way.

"_You need to snap out of this, for the girls,"_ he whispered as he sat down on the bed beside her. She looked up at him and shut her sunken eyes.

"_I know…it's so hard Teme…"_ tears glistened at the corners of her eyes, _"It was dead Teme, and inside me."_ It was as if the horror was too great for her to understand or even let go.

"_Dobe..I'm afraid we're going to lose you,"_ he whispered, he felt Tinnu eavesdropping on them with chakra and he refrained from shaking his head. Of course her sisters also felt the spike in chakra and Sasuke could now feel Minuial listening as well. Even Dawn, who was on the roof with her ranger, was eavesdropping.

"_You think I'll die?"_ the dobe's voice was so weak, and surprised. Had she really thought the Kyuubi alone would sustain her, perhaps it would or perhaps once its container was weak enough it could break free.

"_Naruto, I don't know how to help you anymore. You need medicine, medicine that will work and therapy that I can't provide…"_ Sasuke took a deep breath and felt heat spread across his face at what he was about to confess, _"Dobe…I can't stand to see you like this…I…"_ he bowed his head and bit his lip, _"I don't want to lose you forever either,"_ there was a weak chuckle beside him and cold, bony fingers grazed his face.

"_Then what are you suggesting?"_

"_Go back to Konoha,"_ he could not believe what he was saying but the words had left his mouth. He had been thinking about this for some time now, and in his desperation it was the only answer he could see to their problem. Perhaps seeing everyone would allow her to move on, and the medical treatment she could get there would be far superior to what he could provide.

"_You'll get treatment there, treatment you need, and if the Cyclops is still there, you can get sent back to us" _It was a fairly great risk but one he was willing to take if it meant the dobe wouldn't wither away like she was. And if the Cyclops was dead, he could at least pretend she didn't die like she was currently. He could imagine she was happy again, and was desperately searching for a way back to their family…

"_But I won't leave the girls again," _Sasuke smiled bitterly, normally he would have relished hearing that, but when the dobe looked so…so pitiable… She was just a shadow of her former self, a painful shadow.

Three sets of feet began moving toward them and the dobe sat up in alarm. _"I don't think they want to lose you forever either, Naruto,"_ the dobe flushed slightly. It was such a stark difference from her current pallor that Sasuke grimaced.

Tinnu and Dawn entered the room first but Minuial was fast behind them. _"Kaasan, you have to go, if you'll get better, you have to,"_ Tinnu rushed her words out and clutched tightly to her mother's arm as she kneeled beside her on the bed.

"_Kaasan, I don't want to lose you like this, I want you to be healthy."_ Dawn was kneeling on the ground beside the dobe, and she clutched desperately to her other arm, _ "What about when I get married, I want you to be there,"_ Sasuke flinched at his eldest talking about marriage, but the smile that light up the dobe's face was worth it.

Then Minuial made it into the room, she tackled her twin and they both landed on the blonde's lap _"Kaasan, you gotta go if it means you'll get better. You still got to teach me and Tinnu all your traps and seals!"_

"_I think it's unanimous dobe, we want you healthy and if Konoha will provide that, then fine."_ She reached over their daughters and wrapped her bony arms around his neck. _"Also, you could pick up some needed scrolls on medical ninjutsu and elemental testing paper," _the dobe chuckled softly and nodded against his neck.

If it meant the dobe would be healthy, then he could let this happen. It was for their family. And he had told the dobe the truth. He didn't think he could take it if she died, especially like this. Sasuke refused to be alone in this world. He needed the dobe to devise horrible and humiliating deaths on suitors who would mistreat their girls, and he needed someone who knew about their advanced civilization.

Also…the soft spot created from all they had went through in this world shook to think of her dead. She gave him these beautiful daughters and she had been so horribly hurt from the death of their last two attempts at having children. In part, it was his fault that the dobe was in such a deplorable state, and damn he wished there were better anti-depressants than what he had available.

* * *

_**3017 September, 29**_

Aragorn sighed for the umpteenth time. The four hobbit travelers from the Shire stuck out like a sore thumb. Ever since he caught sight of them coming from the Downlands and talking with a Bombadil, he had tracked them into the village. How careless they were, to utter their plans in open air.

Even now, to all unfriendly eyes, it was clear they hid something especially "Mr. Underhill." Truly, the hobbit's cover was surely to be blown with such a common surname. The other Underhills of Bree were trying to figure out how exactly they were related to this Shire-ling. However, Aragorn did have to hand it to the hobbit, he was certainly quick on his feet when it came to cover stories, though the ranger noted several Greenway travelers looked at the hobbit with clear suspicion.

Aragorn tore his sight away from the hobbit he was told to look for by Gandalf, and focused in on the two cloaked persons to enter the pub. He immediately noted by their strides that it was Dawn and her faithful Haldarad. He smirked around his pipe. With the cloak on no one would think the slighter figure to be the blacksmith's eldest daughter. She was just another ranger to the occupants of the _Pony._

"_Uncle,"_ she greeted lowly and quickly followed his line of sight. She was ever so observant and he felt pride bubble up in his chest. She was an archer through and through. _"Mother and Father left for the Old Forest,"_ He hummed and she elaborated, _"they hope that being close to where they had first landed will bring Mother back to our home country and not some other place._

"_She is too weak to make travel through dangerous territory, and who will know what physical state she will be in after the travel."_

That made sense he supposed, but truly it was all magic to him, what did he know. _"With Mother as weak as she is, it will likely take a day to travel there, and Mother refuses to let Father carry her,"_ the three of them chuckled slightly. The blonde had regained some of her vivacity but she was still a shadow of her former self. It may have helped that her husband and children, quite literally, forced food down her throat.

"_Aragorn, is that the one you are to wait for?"_ Haldarad asked with a subtle tilt of his head. He nodded minutely and inhaled on his pipe again.

"_Should you have left the store in your sisters' hands?"_ Aragorn asked his niece with a teasing smile.

"_They have busied themselves with making traps and the shop has been closed since Father and Mother left,"_ Dawn primly replied which only caused the rangers to chuckle.

"_Oh yes, and nothing will stop them from opening the store again to test their traps,"_ she glared at them from beneath her hood and turned away from them fully. Feeling in the mood to continue tormenting his niece, Aragorn smirked around his pipe more fully, _"And where is your chaperone? You two have been together quite a bit without one,"_

The two young lovers tensed and looked away from each other, both their faces likely flaming. He chuckled at their actions but then Dawn turned on him with a malicious little smile, _"Are you one to talk Uncle, who is this I hear you sing and sigh about?"_ his smile fell and he sighed if only to reaffirm what his niece had said.

"_Yes, you have caught me, alas our love will likely end like—" _he broke himself off and frowned at the sight of "Mr. Underhill" standing upon a table and reciting a rather boisterous song.

"_What?"_ both young people asked, their gazes transfixed upon the little hobbit.

"_Dawn, you can create illusions yes?" _she nodded stiffly to his question. As he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, he noted that her eyes turned red and glowed faintly in the shadow of her hood. Her eyes suddenly widened and she zeroed in on the hobbit's waistcoat.

"_What is that? I felt it when I came in but dismissed it because it __**had**__ been faint. But now…now there is some immense energy, a foul energy, in that hobbit's pocket,"_ she hissed and clenched her fists closed so tightly her knuckles began to turn white.

Then it was as he suspected. _"The evil will pull some trickery here; watch him carefully and keep the tavern folk from seeing anything amiss."_ The Greenway travelers came to mind, they must not know anything, if the hobbit truly did hold the Ring… he shuddered to think of the consequences.

He held tightly to his pipe and noted that Haldarad had his fists clenched closed as well. Dawn had her hands hidden beneath the table, but Aragorn could imagine they were held together in some strange formation.

Dawn saw it coming like a slow moving carriage crash. Her hands went through the signs and before the evil, glowing-with-energy ring could slide upon the foolish hobbit's finger, the tavern goers imagined he simply fell to the ground and was stunned for a moment.

Moving with her trained ninja reflexes, she grabbed the shaking hobbit as her illusion played out. She could see his energy and yet he was not really there anymore, not visually. She had kept Aragorn and Haldarad from her illusion which was an auditory trigger released by the hobbit's scream as he fell to the ground. The three of them would appear as if they were still sitting around their table while the little hobbit would talk about going to freshen up.

The hobbit seemed to pull out of his daze and she quickly set her hand against his mouth as she moved them into public wash area. Aragorn had moved toward his room and had motioned for Haldarad to be a guard within the tavern itself. The illusion of herself and Haldarad left the Tavern while Ojisan's illusion followed him up into the hotel part of the _Pony._

She turned the hobbit around to face her and felt him tense in her arms. "Do not scream Master Hobbit sir, and I suggest you take that evil thing off your finger. It's…tainting you," she scrunched up her noise as she watched the evil chakra-energy-or whatever the hell it was- creep from the hobbit's finger to curl around the hobbit.

"W-what do you mean? You can see me?" the hobbit then shakily complied and removed the ring from his finger to place it in the pocket of his waistcoat.

Dawn deactivated her sharingan and nodded her head, "Yes I could, my eyes see energies, usually powerful energies. Listen, sir, there are a lot of bad people out there, and they've been looking for something, you have to be more careful. You must be that hobbit Uncle has been waiting for,"

The hobbit looked alarmed for a moment but before he could continue a knock came at the door. "Mr. Fr-Underhill, sir," there was a pause and the hobbit going by the name Underhill frowned slightly.

"Yes Sam?"

"Are you alright, sir? Do you need help with anything, sir?"

"No Sam, I will be out shortly," footsteps then plodded away slowly from the door and the hobbit gave Dawn his full attention once more.

"What do you mean your Uncle has been waiting for me?" there was suspicion clear in his voice and in the way his eyes narrowed. A wise one, that was good. She smiled and stooped down slightly.

"Yes, some Gandalf fellow ordered him to wait for a hobbit traveling from the Shire if Mr. Gandalf was held up by anything. I don't know the name, Uncle wouldn't tell me, though it has certainly been nice to have Uncle here for so long" Dawn straightened and smiled at the thought. He had been in Bree for six months it was the longest he had been with the yet, though it was a bitter six months to be sure.

She sighed and shook her head. Kaasan would be alright, she had to be. It hurt to think of her leaving them, but she knew it was for the best. It had to be. Kaasan would get the medical treatment she needed and she could tie up all those loose ends. But then…then there was the little voice that wondered if Kaasan would return to them after she met back up with her old lover. She tried not to think about her mother being a man and that lover being a woman because she really did not like to think of Kaasan being with anyone else but her father.

Under her breath she said a prayer, that Ojisan had taught her in sindarin, for her mother. The hobbit tensed and looked at Dawn strangely. She looked back at him with her eyes narrowed _"Do you understand me?"_ the hobbit nodded jerkily and she could not help but frown more deeply. This hobbit understood sindarian, how strange.

"You know elvish, my lady?" he asked, his expression curious and less wary. Dawn nodded slowly, and regretted doing so when the hobbit's expression grew excited. "Who taught you? Who were you praying for?"

Dawn backed away from the other and glared at him, the hobbit quailed under the look but it was clear he still wanted an answer. "Uncle taught me and I was praying for my mother," the hobbit ducked his head quickly in shame for prying. Good.

After a pause the hobbit spoke up, "What is it your uncle wants with me?" he asked with slight hesitation and suspicion. He looked Dawn in the eye, as if he would learn all he needed to know from her eyes.

"He would like to talk, I know that much. He will likely give you advice. You haven't exactly been to careful, you know" Dawn gave him a pointed look and let her eyes flicker down to his waistcoat, the hobbit backed up slightly and gripped the ring through the pocket.

"Then I will meet with him," the hobbit nodded his head, as if to reaffirm his own statement.

"Just like that?" Dawn could not keep the incredulity from out of her voice, the hobbit narrowed his gaze as if insulted she was second guessing his actions for him. "I meant no offense Master Hobbit, you just changed your tune so quickly," the hobbit sighed and nodded his head.

"I suppose I did, my lady. But I do not see an enemy knowing both Gandalf and being fluent in the elvish tongue. I will speak with him, though I do not trust either of you fully."

Dawn chuckled to and gave the hobbit an approving look, "That is the wisest thing I've seen you do so far." He glared at her but she just shook her head, and gave a disarming smile.

The hobbit had good fortune on his side for the moment, but it would have been too easy for this "enemy" to have done just what Dawn had. Perhaps it was the training her parents had put her through that made her so cautious and suspicious of others. The hobbit **was** being far from discreet.

"My uncle will visit you in your rooms to arouse less suspicion. I suggest you go there first."

The hobbit nodded and paused at the door, "My company and I are staying in the hobbit suite near the stables," Dawn nodded and motioned him to leave. She then put on an illusion, _henge_ her father called it, to look like an ant so she could skitter past the hobbit and back into tavern. She wove through occupants and made her way to her Uncle's room.

Once at his door she cast a look about and released the illusion. Making two short raps followed by three long raps and ending with a short one, she waited for him to open his door. With a surreptitious look about her she spoke lowly as she entered the room _"Mr. Underhill awaits you in the hobbit suite near the stables. Shall I accompany you so he verifies your identity?"_

Dawn noted her uncle nodded and quickly left the room he had been renting. Though he spent most of his time at their shop, they hardly had the room to put the ranger up for a night.

Dawn decided to leave from his window while her uncle left the inn to move around the back toward the hobbit's window. Her uncle could be a ninja with his ability to hug the night shadows and stay unseen. Dawn quickly moved across the roof and dropped down at the hobbit's window just in time to meet her uncle.

He was shaking his head at her and she just smiled. Dawn rapped at the shutters of the window, _"Master hobbit, I've brought my uncle as requested,"_ there as the hurried tapping of feet, several pairs of feet actually.

The shutters were thrown open and three heads stuck out and looked down at her and Ojisan in shock. Mr. Underhill was in the middle with a letter in his hand, there appeared to be several post scripts as well. "Well, are we allowed in or not?" she asked which earned her a shake of the head from Ojisan.

"Dawn, these hobbits are not used to your eccentricities," she gave him a pointed look and he bowed his head, "though neither am I," he admitted.

One of the younger looking hobbits piped in, "I don't know how we're going to get you up here."

Dawn just smiled while her uncle sighed, "At least help your poor old uncle up there," she chuckled and motioned him over. He set his arm over her shoulder and she jumped onto the ledge of the window. The hobbits stumbled back and her uncle sat himself on the sill while she gracefully entered the small room.

Ojisan twisted his tall frame about so he could enter the room as well, though he grumbled as he did so. "Please Uncle, you're not in your nineties yet," she teased and he nodded slowly. It felt good to joke like this; there had been so little cheer in their house for so long. She hoped her mother would return soon and healthier than ever.

"Yes but I am close," he turned to look at the startled hobbits, "May I sit?" he asked tiredly and absentmindedly the one going by Mr. Underhill pointed to a chair.

"I'd like to know your name sir," the stoutest hobbit in the group asked, he moved hesitantly in front of Mr. Underhill, as if to protect him. Dawn recognized his voice from earlier in the wash room and recalled his name to be Sam. "And how you were able to hop up here"

Ojisan seemed to find his actions amusing but nodded his head in consent, "I am known as Strider in these parts, but that is not what you want to know is it?" the hobbits nodded in distrust and Dawn smiled from her place at the far wall. She lowered her hood and began to play with the end of her braid. This was uncle's domain, his mission; she would sit at the back for now.

"I am not partial to giving my real name, and as for my niece's abilities, it is at her own volition if she should explain them to you, Master Hobbit," her uncle stated calmly as he looked to each of the hobbits. Sam blinked several times, while Mr. Underhill seemed to regard Ojisan thoughtfully.

Ojisan turned to her and she nodded her head. It was time for her to leave. She pulled her hood back up and sat upon the window sill, "Let me know if you require my skills." She swung onto the top of the window frame and used chakra to stick to the wall. She heard the surprised gasps and chuckled as she headed back toward the shop.

Aragorn shook his head at his niece's actions. "Where'd she go?" the hobbit who had addressed them from the window asked with his mouth agape.

"Another of my nieces' skills" the hobbits would not be able to tell he had multiple nieces, but he preferred that.

"Now, I am willing to tell you what I know and give you good advice, but I ask only that you allow me to accompany you until I choose to leave," the ring bearer nodded.

"Yes, I have this letter from Gandalf that Butterbur had just given me. Oh how I wish he had given it to me sooner. None of this mess would have happened," the hobbit lamented and waved the papers about. "You certainly match the description he gave of you, but he never mentioned a niece,"

Aragorn chuckled and nodded his head, "Indeed he would not. I am a hunted man. As such I weary of distrust and long for friendship. But there, I believe my looks are against me," the hobbits nodded immediately, and the youngest of the hobbits eyed Aragorn with clear distrust while he put himself further in front of the ring bearer. "But I have made a good friend here in Bree, you met his daughter, who I view as a niece," the hobbits nodded again and Aragorn smiled fondly at the thought of his nieces.

"But come, I promised to tell you what I know and provide advice, though I knew nothing of this letter." He furrowed his brow slightly at the thought. He was sure he would have had to work to gain the hobbit's trust.

"Go on then, what do you know?" the ring bearer asked, and seemed to prepare himself for the worst. How wise of him.

"Too much; too many dark things," Aragorn answered truthfully, his face drawn into a grim mask, "But as for your business –" Aragorn looked about and moved to latch the windows shut before he moved the door and peered around, that was when another hobbit appeared, one of the "Underhill" company. No one else followed the hobbit.

"Merry!" the cheerful hobbit addressed and hugged the rather dazed newcomer. Merry eyed Aragorn warily but returned the other's hug.

"Pippin, why is that Strider fellow in our suite?" Aragorn chuckled slightly and sat back down in his former seat.

"I came to talk with Mr. Underhill, however I did witness a very curious exchange outside of Bree with old Tom Bombadil. I need not recite all that was said, but one thing interested me most. 'Please remember,' said one of the company, 'that the name Baggins must not be mentioned. I am Mr. Underhill, if any name must be given.' That interested me so much that I followed the company of hobbits here. I slipped over the gate just behind them. Maybe Mr. Baggins has an honest reason for leaving his name behind; but if so, I should advise him and his friends to be more careful." Aragorn sent the hobbits a pointed look.

Before Mr. Underhill, or rather, Baggins could leave in an upset flurry; Aragorn proceeded on, "I was looking for a Hobbit called Frodo Baggins. I wanted to find him quickly. I had learned that he was carrying out of the Shire, well, a secret that concerned me and my friends, as well as a mutual friend it seems.

"Now, do not mistake me!" he rushed on lest the hobbits believe he was lying. "I shall take more care of the secret than you do. And care is need!" Aragorn leaned forward and looked at them intently, they were alarmed, good, "Watch every shadow!" he stressed in a low voice before carrying on, "Black horsemen have passed through Bree. On Monday one came down the Greenway, they say; and another appeared later, coming up the Greenway from the south."

Merry looked troubled and rubbed at his head as if there was a tender spot on it. Aragorn's eyes narrowed.

"Now wait here a minute," the youngest in the group stood up beside Baggins, he looked indignant. "You speak of these dark things and tell us we haven't been careful. And I agree, but how do we know that either of you weren't play-acting. We told him outright that Gandalf had a friend and perhaps there's been a rumor floating about that Gandalf has a friend named Strider,"

Aragorn gave the hobbit an appraising look and smiled gently. "Fortunately for you I _am _the real Strider. I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will."

The young Baggins looked up at him, appraising him as well, "You have already frightened me several times tonight, yet not in a way I would imagine the Enemy would. I think an enemy would – well, seem fairer and feel fouler, if you understand."

And indeed, Aragorn did understand. He chuckled as he nodded his head, "I see, I look foul but feel fair. Is that it?" mirth still rang in his voice and he watched as the hobbit flushed slightly at seemingly offensive language, "All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wonder are lost," he stated which seemed to set the hobbits further at ease.

"I see, so these verses applied to you?" Baggins asked as he held out the second post-script in the bundle. "But how could you know them. You have never seen nor heard of this letter,"

This peaked Aragorn's interest, ah yes, the hobbit had mentioned a letter from Gandalf earlier. But he had not known Gandalf would divulge his identity, "I did not know, but I am Aragorn, and those verses go with that name."

Without hesitation, Aragorn withdrew Elendil, the blade that was broken and watched the hobbits' eyes grow wide. "It's not much use is it, but it is near the time for it to be forged anew," and it was this thought that plagued his sleep. War was upon them and he would have to take up the mantel of the king at some point. How he wished to hold it off for several more decades, yet it was of no use.

"If you will have me as your guide to Rivendell we will leave in the morning."

Merry shifted in his spot and quickly recited his encounter with one of the nazgul. Aragorn frowned, "You are lucky it had not done you more harm. And you are lucky, Frodo, my niece kept that bit of trickery from being discovered."

The hobbit furrowed his brow and looked at the ranger curiously, "Yes, I have been meaning to ask. What spell had she cast on everyone to not see my disappearing?"

It seemed all but Merry had been informed of the incident and they were looking at Aragorn intently.

"She calls it an illusion, but the art is a mystery to me. No ill will was meant, to be sure, but it has saved you for now. Other than the entrance of four hobbits coming from the Downlands, Ferny would have had little to share with the Black rider. It is possible you will be safe for this evening."

"Will they attack us?" Pippin asked in a panicked voice. Aragorn shook his head.

"No, but mischief may be done during the night, though they will have little cause to do so. Come you must not stay in these rooms tonight. I shall retrieve my niece and she will bring you safely to my rooms," Strider then moved to the windowsill. Truly it was not a great fall, but it would have been a needless struggle to climb up to it when his niece was there to help him up.

Wincing as he hit the ground too hard, Aragorn straightened and began his way toward the blacksmith shop. He came around to the back and rapped at the forge's door. Minuial was at the door with Tinnu right behind her.

"_Where is your sister?" _ he asked and not a moment later Dawn entered the forge busy braiding her hair for bed.

"_You require my assistance again?"_ Aragorn nodded and watched as his niece back tracked to retrieve her cloak and put her shoes back on.

The twins were watching Aragorn intently and he imagined they would break soon and ask their questions.

"_Uncle, why do you not want our help?"_

"_We can help too!"_

Aragorn shook his head and ruffled both thirteen-year-olds' hair, much to their annoyance _"Because your sister creates powerful illusions and she has already been introduced to the company I have come in contact with."_ The twins folded their arms over their busts, as slight as they were, and grumbled to themselves. They could still act like children, which was thankful. He would not have wanted their mother's illness to diminish their natural joviality.

"_So the talk went well then?"_ Dawn questioned, and Aragorn nodded before they exited the forge and made their way back to the inn.

Tinnu glared at the retreating figures of Nee-chan and Ojisan. It wasn't fair. Why did Dawn get to have all the fun? Then a thought suddenly came to her. Why should Dawn be the only one to help Ojisan?

Tinnu glanced over at her sister and they both began to smile. Oh yes, it would be perfect. Cackling, as their father would dub their laughter, Tinnu began to collect all the seals they had in the house. Minuial was already backing up satchels for them. An adventure was before them – they could see it, and they would not miss out on it for the world.

* * *

_**3017 September 30**_

Minuial watched as her sister got up early, her cloak hiding her face and making her appear to be a simple ranger. The sun wasn't even up yet and Tinnu was still snoring loudly on her bedroll, but Minuial had felt her older sister leave the room and was quick to spy on her.

The night had passed rather uneventfully, though it was more active than usual. All those Greenway-ers from the South were in a tizzy but they caused no trouble.

When Minuial spotted her sister heading toward the_ Pony_ she nudged her twin awake. It took a few good jabs but then she was up and blinking. As if on one brain wave they began to get ready.

They put on their most sturdy wool dresses and pulled up their favorite supple leather boots. Tinnu quickly pulled her hair into a pony tail, while Minuial braided her hair in two and pinned them atop her head. Tinnu packed what food she could while her sister gathered up their bedrolls and blankets. Minuial smirked and sealed their bedding into a storage scroll along with their spare cloaks, dresses, and blankets.

When Minuial made it down the stairs she was handed a sack with salted meat and bread, as well as some cheese. She stored it in the seal as well and took up her dao blades. She put the blades together and strapped them to her back while Tinnu attached her sword to her belt. Not for the first time did Minuial wish their father would make them some leather hunting breeches, it would make accessing kunai and shurriken so much easier. Instead they had pockets in their cloak to house their projectiles and trap wire.

The girls exited their house through the forge and jumped onto the roof where they crouched and waited in the dim rays of morning. Just as the roster began to crow they watched as Ojisan led four hobbits on four ponies through main gate and out, though something was off, they were shimmering. To the untrained eye it was the perfect illusion but not to them.

Oh Nee-chan was so tricky! Knowing their uncle, he would lead the hobbits out of one of the obscure exits and take a winding path through the wilds. Few people would have seen them leave so early in the morning and those that did would be led on a false trail. Minuial and Tinnu knew their uncle well.

Shifting, the girls double checked they had everything the needed. Weapons in one pocket, seals in another pocket, and Minuial still held their storage scroll; however, Tinnu quickly snatched it away from her. Minuial glared at her but Tinnu gave her a deadpan look. It was true, Minuial did misplace things from time to time, it would be best her sister held on to it.

Tinnu motioned her twin on since they both knew where Uncle would be taking the hobbits. The kenjutsu specialist quickly set up a trap of sorts, it was seal that would activated by Dawn's chakra when she entered the house. This seal was a way for Tinnu to know when their sister would be on their trail, for it would take seconds for the girl to notice food missing and her sisters' absence. The fifteen-year-old was likely going to the market or talking to Haldarad, one of the two. Though… Dawn could also be focusing on her illusion - that was a possibility. Whichever it was, Tinnu and Minuial would a get a few minutes head start, and they had always been faster than their older sister.

Shaking her, Tinnu stepped away from her work satisfied and gave triumphant smile. Using her speed, Tinnu quickly caught up with her sister before they both went full tilt after their uncle, but with their chakra suppressed lest Dawn notice something amiss too soon.

They had picked up Ojisan's trail just when the seal Tinnu set triggered and told the girl Nee-chan had found out about their disappearance. The hobbits were making good time on their ponies but it was still no trouble keeping up with them, and Ojisan had always been fast on his feet – even more so since he and Tousan started sparring.

Tinnu made a few discreet signs to her sister to convey that Dawn found out, and she saw Minuial nod. Tousan had taught them some of the Uchiha Police Corps sign language, but they had created some of their own signs when they were coordinating pranks to pull on their family.

The girls continued to act as shadows for the group, even as they felt their sister's chakra start to follow. This was sooooooo much fun!

...

Dawn could not believe them! They could not do this to her. Tousan was going to kill her! Well…no he wouldn't but he was going to be so disappointed; and right after he sent Kaasan home.

Why weren't they thinking, didn't they realize this was going to devastate their father to return to an empty house. Oh gods, this was horrible! She had left a note and prayed to all the deities she knew, that she and her sisters would return before their father. Maybe they could play it off as if nothing had happened.

Dawn couldn't sense her siblings but she knew they were likely tracking Ojisan. Gritting her teeth, Dawn activated her sharingan and searched the forest for any sign of her sister's passing through the area. She immediately caught onto the sight of pony hooves through a ranger's path, which was a relief. She caught onto Ojisan's trial and now had to see if her sisters had gone along this way.

Then she saw it, a bent twig and some worn off bark on one of the upper tree branches. It looked like Minuial had traveled this way, and Tinnu was likely with her. Minuail did her best to be cautious but she always left little mistakes like this behind that made it easy to track her, Tinnu hardly ever left a trace. With a smirk she hurried after sisters and Ojisan with her sharingan off lest it drain all her chakra away.

She was gaining up on them, in fact she could see them crouching along the path, out of Ojisan's awareness.

Oh no, Ojisan would be so disappointed with her too! He couldn't know she let them follow him. It could compromise his mission! She slowed down and began to mask her presence further. Tinnu and Minuial were grinning like feral animals while they cast glances back at her, taunting her. Dawn glared darkly at them and wished for the first time she had the next level of the sharingan so she could just knock the idiots out.

She gritted her teeth and continued to follow after them, and tired several times to catch ahold of one of them, but the slipped out of her grasp. They had always been faster than her, and for the first time she cursed her lack of speed. She still did not want to draw Ojisan's attention to her or her sisters.

However, her hopes were crushed when she saw the tree line diminishing into a bog. Oh no! Ojisan would find out. Dawn glanced up at the sky, half the day had past and the twins had evaded her the whole time. What if Tousan had returned by this point?

Aragorn was surprised by the time they were making, though the hobbits had already complained about the "grueling" pace he had set them at, though they really should not complain, they had ponies to ride on and carry their packs. Aragorn shifted the pack upon his shoulders and rolled his shoulders back to release some of the tension. They were nearly at the bog which was good, though they would lose tree coverage.

Frodo pulled his pony closer to where Aragorn was marching along. His long strides managed to keep him apace with the hobbits, though he was beginning to tire. He wondered how Sasuke would have fared thus far, he likely would be urging the ponies to go in a canter rather than the slow plod they were currently moving at. The blacksmith would have had no trouble keeping up with them, yet the ranger hoped his friend would be impressed with Aragorn's perseverance.

"Strider?" Frodo hesitantly drew his attention but the hobbit kept his gaze straightforward and his voice was so low the ranger had to strain to catch his words.

"Yes?" he replied in an equally low tone.

"I feel we're being followed, watched," the hobbit hissed before his eyes flickered off to the side of them, shooting into the tree branches.

Strange... the Nazgul would not have been traveling by trees yet the hobbit was so certain something was following them. Could it be Gollum? Had he caught up with them from wherever he had vanished too? No…it must be something else.

Then he caught, the briefest flicker of a shadow, and then another flicker. They had not! Aragorn halted in his march, his fists clenched at his sides in a mixture of disappointment, anger, and fear.

The horses huffed behind him and Frodo looked at him curiously, but there was anxiety in his eyes – he likely feared it was an enemy.

"Minuial, Tinnu!" Aragorn called out sternly, his eyes were set in a hard expression.

"Uh-oh!" that was Minuial, and Aragorn noted three flickers stop in the trees above them.

"Dawn!?" He couldn't believe this, how could she have allowed the twins to come this far? Pippin was trying to ask what Strider was going on about when Dawn dropped down to the ground from her perch.

She landed in a crouch, her hood still shadowed her face while she bowed her head deeply, _"I am so sorry Uncle! I am. I was trying to take them home but they kept evading me!"_ Aragorn glared up in to the tree lines and raised an eyebrow as he folded his arms over his chest.

"_Get down here,"_ he ordered and the twins dropped down from the trees, and quickly stood up from their landing crouches. The hobbits seemed too shocked for words. _"How irresponsible can you two be?" _he hissed at the twins who ducked their heads at his chastisement.

"_Your father will be arriving home at any moment to an empty house. With all that has been happening to him how could you disappear like that? He will also have just parted with his wife, did you two think of that?"_

"Strider what are you saying?" Pippin asked as he regarded Aragorn's nieces with interest. Frodo shot Pippin a look too late and began to shake his head.

"It is a personal matter," Aragorn replied curtly before he looked back at the twins and Dawn who was half kneeling with her head still bowed. _"This is dangerous mission I am on, a mission I wanted to keep your family as far away from as possible!"_ Minuial began to pout and had her arms folded over her chest.

"_Then why did Dawn get to help!"_ she shouted like a petulant child and Aragorn narrowed his gaze on her.

"_You are a young woman, Minuial and you should best begin acting as such,"_ he saw Frodo grimace at his harsh treatment of his nieces, but Aragorn was too alarmed and worried for his nieces to care what the hobbit thought of him.

"_What will your father do if something were to happen to any of you? Hmm? You three are his world, and with your mother gone…"_ Minuial glared back definitely at him, and Tinnu raised her head slowly.

"Why won't you let us help. We can fight, we're strong, we can take care of ourselves" Minuial threw her hands out to her sides in exasperation. "You let Dawn help!"

Dawn was standing by this point and she grabbed Minuial by the arm.

"That was in the safety of the village, and I know what you're doing, Minuial, I will not allow it," his niece was going to play with the hobbit's desperate need for safety to get her a place in the company.

"The longer we stay here, _Ojisan_, the sooner we could be tracked by those black riders," Tinnu piped in but did not back down at the glares directed at her from Aragorn or Dawn.

"_We are going home now,"_ Dawn stated, _"Before Father has a heart attack,"_

Aragorn was not sure what exactly a heart attack was, but he could imagine it was brought on by stress or fear.

Minuial jerked her arm out of the hold, "We can cast illusions just well as you, and we're fast, much faster than you. We'll sneak out the moment we get back and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Dawn gritted her teeth and glared harder at her younger sister, Tinnu was nodding her head to her twin's words.

"Then _Ojisan_ can be safe too. We can put up seals around the campsite to keep unwanted peoples out"

Aragorn noted the hobbits' interest had been piqued. They had been rightly scared in their travels and the thought of such magical protection appealed to them, but Aragorn could not allow it, he could not risk his nieces.

"_You will do no such thing!"_ Dawn hissed, her rage causing her to slip into her native tongue, or perhaps it was mix because he swore he heard a sindarin word or two mixed in. _"Would you really do this to Tousan! And by the time we're home he'll be back and he's faster than both of you! We are going home now!"_

"_No we won't!" _ the twins said this in unison and though Aragorn knew not what exactly they had said he could imagine the sentiment behind it. The hobbits were shifting and he could see anxiety continue to build in Fordo's eyes.

"_We'll slip away from you again and again, and we'll never get home!"_

"_We want to be of some help too, why do you get to be the only one to help Ojisan, huh Nee-chan!?" _

"Please, stop this arguing," Aragorn and his nieces turned to Frodo who was holding his pocket anxiously. "I feel too exposed here, we must continue on," the hobbits eyes flitted about the area as he held tightly to his waistcoat pocket.

"If these three can be of so much help, Mr. Strider, why don't they help?" to Aragorn's surprise it was Sam who spoke up.

"I will not endanger my nieces' lives," he replied coldly which caused the young hobbit to flinch and duck his head.

"But Strider!" Pippin cried but was quickly silenced by Aragorn's glare.

"Uncle, we want to help!" Tinnu pleaded.

"We don't even know what your mission is, we just want to help!" Minuial explained, but their protests had given Dawn the chance to grab hold of both of her siblings.

"I will knock you both out and drag you back to Bree, am I clear?!" the twins tugged their arms out of her hold in unison and flickered out of existence to reappear behind the hobbits.

Frodo was fidgeting and Merry looked thoughtful. Aragorn narrowed his eyes on Frodo and began to shake his head as the hobbit opened his mouth.

"I know they are your nieces, but they are willing to help, and I am sure no harm will come with these protections they can offer. It is something to consider. It is also possible that their father knows of their absence and is already searching," the twins nodded adamantly and Dawn looked torn. He knew the girl wanted to help, in fact, that morning she had gave a desperate plea to come along and aide them however she could.

Aragorn had told her firmly, that no she could not, she had to be there for her father and sisters. He knew she wanted to help just as desperately as the twins but she knew how he felt; she knew he would never agree.

Merry spoke up then, "Besides, Strider, would it not put them in more danger if the enemy should…well…take **it**, then everyone will die, right?" and all the hobbits began to nod adamantly.

"It's six against two, _Ojisan,_"Tinnu stated with her head cocked to the side, consequently mimicking her sister who was grinning devilishly.

Dawn had her head bowed again, _"Uncle…"_ Aragorn snapped his attention toward her and instantly knew she had caved _"If the mission affects us so much, why don't we help you?"_

"_No!"_ Aragorn crossed his arms over his chest and the girls bowed their heads.

"Strider," he glared at the ring bearer again, "We do need the help desperately and I would feel safer with those illusions around us. We've wasted too much time here, and the yelling may have drawn attention to us."

"I can check that!" the twins called and split off in different directions to scout.

"I'll scout as well—"

"No you will not!" Aragorn snapped and Dawn paused in her jumping motion, "you will take your sisters home – that is the end of the discussion."

"I can't catch them; they're too fast for me!" she exclaimed in frustration before she jumped away to scout as well.

"Well, I guess they're helping," Pippin chirped with a shrug only to flinch at Strider's glare.

"I will not be able to forgive myself if something should happen to them. I hope you are all happy that you're endangering my nieces' lives," Aragorn moved forward, perhaps he had been too harsh on the hobbits, but the girls had outright disobeyed him and were setting their father up for more heartbreak than the smith already had to deal with.

The hobbits followed behind him somberly, heads down, and ponies kicking up a little dirt.

...

Sasuke dropped down from the trees and trudged tiredly toward the gate. He rubbed his face and wished to see his girls. The sun had set some time ago and the day had felt so dreadfully long.

After he and the dobe broke camp that morning, they hand continued on their way. They had made it to the hill on which Goldberry and Tombadil lived around noon; however, the strange couple was nowhere to be found.

The dobe had been so fatigued from the travel that she had asked to rest and he complied; after all, it would be last time he would get to hold her for who knew how long – possibly forever. Part of him wished to be intimate with her one last time – strangely enough, but he knew she was in no shape mentally for that. Instead he had lay down beside her and held onto the dobe, the mother of his children. She had been so horribly thin and pale, he had almost been afraid she would break, but the dobe had always been made of stronger stuff.

In some ways, that afternoon had reminded Sasuke of their first year in Middle Earth, so often they would lay on that hill, soaking in the sun and taking in all of nature. Of course, instead of thinking they would be together for a long time as they had in those years… he could not help but think that they would be parted for an indefinite amount of time.

It had taken several tries for the dobe to coat herself fully in the demon's chakra, and she could only hold it for a short time. They had practiced on clones outside of the village prior to today, and the clones had successfully returned to Konoha. Before the Kyuubi cloak faded he sent her back through the time-portal-jutsu. Her sad smile was the last he saw of her before she was sucked into its depths, her chakra connecting her back to the Elemental Lands.

Sasuke left then, as quickly as he could. Standing before the entrance of the village he rapped at the gate. It was well past sundown, several hours actually. The gatekeeper eyed him suspiciously until he recognized him.

"And what are you doing out there?"

"I left yesterday morning with my wife,"

"Oh and where is she?" Sasuke folded his arms over his chest and glared at the man. Oh yes, he remembered now, this man was one of the townsfolk who believe he had killed his wife when she left.

"She's with friends healing. Now either let me in or I will find my own way in," he was too drained, emotionally, to want to do any strenuous exercise. He had raced here and that had been enough, he just wanted to sit down with his girls and just soak in their presence.

"Alright, alright, just strange things have been happening," the gatekeeper stated which caused Sasuke to raise an eyebrow. The gatekeeper saw this and quickly elaborate, the man was always such a gossip, "Black riders, hobbits, and rangers coming and going, along with wizards. Then there was some rowdy crowds last night," Sasuke gave a 'hn' and proceeded toward the shop. He had hoped the gossip would be more interesting.

The corners of his mouth dipped down when he was outside his home of fifteen years. No lights were on. That was strange, the girls were usually up reading or working on traps/seals. He walked inside, it was cold, far too cold to be normal. No glowing embers in the fire to signify they had let it die as they went to bed – no, it was as if they had never lit a fire, but the day had been a little chilly and surely they used a fire to cook.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he noted that…that Minuial's dao blades were not resting against the wall and Tinnu's sword was not lying on the ground. Had the twins actually put their weapons away? But then he noticed the loaf of bread on the table was missing…strange. Had they eaten it all?

Then Sasuke noted the paper on the counter, he went over to it and picked it up. He moved toward the window and in the moonlight he could see his eldest daughter's scrawl.

_The twins went after Ojisan when he left with his hobbit. I'm bringing them back._

The paper fluttered to the floor and Sasuke was frozen in place. Dawn was too slow to catch her sisters, but surely Aragorn had sent them away, yet then…then those girls could be so stubborn and manipulative. The ranger was supposed to be protect some hobbit, if the hobbit ever came… then the gatekeeper's words about black riders.

Sasuke turned right around and ran toward the inn. He threw it open and noted the place was packed. His eyes scanned about but Butterbur was nowhere to be found. Growling under his breath he caught Nob as he went past, "Where's Butterbur," he hissed at the hobbit, the short one jumped and began to fumble over his words.

"B-b-butterbur is with-with—"

"Where is he?" he growled and lifted the little hobbit off the ground, much to the shock of the tavern's patrons. The hobbit gestured to the office and Sasuke decided to let the creature down gently before he practically flew across the room to the office.

He threw the door open to find an extremely tall elderly man in grey with a blue hat, looming over the rotund barkeep.

"Where did Strider go," he hissed at the barkeep and quickly had the man pressed against the wall, regardless of the onlooker.

"Wh-what?!"

"And why do you care for that information?" Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the glaring giant man. He was easily taller than Aragorn and that seemed a difficult feat to accomplish to Sasuke.

"My daughters followed him, and I will not sit by while-while **black riders** endanger them!" he knew whatever those things were they were bad, he knew Aragorn feared them and would never purposefully set his daughters in danger.

"And why would your daughters do that?" the tall man asked him yet another question, he looked genuinely interested.

"I have no time for your questions, old man. If you know something, tell me, otherwise stay out of this." Sasuke focused his attention back on Butterbur was quaking and looked ready to faint.

"I don't know anything Dû, I swear, but Gandalf does, sir, he does, just leave me alone!" the man wailed while pointing at the tall old man who was glaring at both of them.

Sasuke round upon the old man, his eyes flashing with the sharingan, the man took a step back and straightened up to his full height. "Where are they going?" he ground out. The man radiated with energy, it almost hurt his eyes – the power radiating around the man.

"Then answer my question, why would your daughters follow him?"

Sasuke folded his arms over his chest and glared up at the man, "I don't have to tell you, I could just torture the information from you,"

"I'm sure talking things out will get you answers faster," the old man replied evenly.

Sasuke smirked and let a little of his electrical aligned chakra flow to his fingertips. "Are you so sure about that?" Sasuke could smell urine and flicking his eyes to the side he saw that Butterbur had pissed himself and then fainted.

"I would like to see you try, but in the sake of expediency, answer the question. Surely it is not so dire or secret a reason?"

"They consider him their uncle, he taught two of them how to use weapons and all of them how to track and survive these lands," the man motioned for him to continue and Sasuke narrowed his gaze, "They knew he was going to leave again on some sort of mission – what do you expect they would do? They want adventure; they followed after him since I was out of town to stop them."

The old man looked down at him, "Hmm, and why should I believe you, I have known Strider many years he has never had friends."

"Well we bonded over swordplay," bit back and began to let his eyes morph into the eternal sharingan, "I am losing my patience old man, you will tell me where they are headed."

The man looked down at him and shook his head, "First tell me, has Strider disclosed his real name to you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and glared harder at the man, "Yes he has," Gandalf waited for him to elaborate, "Aragorn son of Arathorn, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean,"

Gandalf seemed satisfied with is response and nodded his head, "Very well, I make to cut them off. I leave at first light from the Eastern gate," Sasuke clenched his fists.

"Why not follow them now!?"

"It is too dark and we both will need our rests. They know not to travel by night – that is what our enemy is doing. We leave tomorrow, refreshed and prepared for a long travel."

"So be it, but if anything happens to my daughters, it will be both your heads," with that he stormed out and began to pack. He doubted he would get any sleep tonight.

* * *

_A suivre_

* * *

**Something extra:**

* * *

Her body ached and a twig was poking her in the cheek. Groggily she tried to left herself onto her arms only to collapse to the ground. She groaned and did her best to sense what was around her.

She was in a forest but the insects and birds were different from the Old Forest, in fact they sounded like Konoha species. So she was back. She exhaled, ruffling the grass beneath her.

Naruto took a another deep breath and began to lift herself back on to her hands. Her body felt so weak, much weaker than when she left…perhaps it was because she was no longer forced into sage mode twenty-four seven.

"_**Yes brat, you really let your self go. Not for me on that sage mode, you'd be dead, but you were wishing that for a while, weren't you,"**_ Naruto gritted her teeth and managed to get herself into a sitting position.

Her head spun for a moment but then it stopped, _"Shut up fox"_ she hissed mentally and was alarmed by how deep her voice sounded. In fact, her clothes weren't fitting right, granted they hadn't for several months but now they just felt wrong.

"_**You know you can't lie to me,"**_

Naruto sighed and closed her eyes tiredly. Okay, perhaps she wished she wouldn't' have to wake up again and again to the pain she felt – he pain of losing the babies. She felt so tired and sick all the time. Food lost its appeal, in fact it felt like she was shocking on it, she just couldn't eat. All she could think of was the baby… it was dead, it was mocking her. It should have been kicking and moving and hiccoughing but it was so still, so fucking still!

Naruto wrapped her arms around herself and shook in as tears began to slip down her face. It had been dead-dead!

"_**Yes, yes, still birth, get over yourself already and make it to your village,"**_ Naruto gasped on air and cursed the fox mentally, she didn't want to think of those two painful weeks, and then Kurama trying to escape when… Gods damn it, it had been dead that whole time, it wasn't fair!

Kurama sighed in her mind _**"You came here for help, and then you'll be back with your Uchiha and spewing out more babies, got it,"**_ Naruto did her best to glare but she just didn't feel like it. She wanted to sleep, sleeping was always so much better than waking. So much better…

"_**What about your brats? The eldest, you wanna miss her wedding?"**_ Naruto snapped her eyes open and shook her head, _**"Then get your ass to Konoha"**_

Naruto blinked away her tears and looked about her. This was certainly the battlefield she and Sasuke had had their final show down in. She could see the decade old scars, though covered by new trees and years of leaves, there were unfilled craters here that were now little ponds. But…she couldn't remember which way Konoha was, she felt so turned around. Was it that way or that way? Which way was east?

"_**Just use my chakra and flare for help,"**_ the demon sighed and Naruto furrowed her brow.

"_What if there are hostile enemies,"_

"_**Then I'll take over your body and protect you, now just do it already,"**_

Naruto brought her hands together, strange…they were larger than she remembered and less slender. Shaking the thoughts a way, she focused on the Kyuubi's chakra and let it flare, stopped the flow and let it flare again. She repeated the action several times, doing her best to remember the Morse Code Jiraiya had trained her in.

Before long, Naruto felt two energies approach him, they were ANBU and based on the tattoo on their arm, they were from Konoha. Naruto sagged in relief let her concentration go. Her body began to pitch forward in exhaustion. She just wanted to sleep and pretend she had a beautiful little baby and her daughters. The bastard would be in her dream too, maybe the girls would torture him by bringing home boyfriends.

She was dead to the world by the time the ANBU came to halt before the blonde. They picked up the skeletal frame and began their way back to Konoha and Lady Tsunade.

* * *

_**A/N:**_**  
**So let me know if you would like little check-ins with Naruto, they will all be about that long and will come at the end of the chapter. Also a reader asked for more clear breaks, and I have been trying but ffnet just hates me when it comes to that. it's either i use the definite line break or it removes whatever I did, so I have been making breaks the system just takes them out.

Um...so next chapter will probably end with arriving at Rivendel and the next chapter will be basically like the chapter "Many Meetings" and "The Council of Elrond."


	2. Chapter 2: Journey to Weathertop

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or Naruto; both works belong to their respective creators and publishers. I gain nothing but writing and editing experiences from this fanfic.

_Full Summary: _Sasuke never expected to have the children he had dreamed of as a genin, nor would he have expected the peace he felt, with _her _of all people. But there they were; the happy, "perfect" family. Yet all good things must come to an end. Hardship after hardship befell them, and the family he built in Middle Earth was breaking apart. At his wit's end, Sasuke has no choice but to be sucked into the struggles of the free peoples against the Power in the East. The sun has set, and night has taken over indefinitely. _Warnings: _OC's, character death (not a likable character), gender-bending.

**Warnings for this chapter: **Angry Aragorn, mentally unstable Sasuke, lots of F-bombs courtesy of Sasuke.

_A/N:_ I've finally updated. I wrote an outline for this at the beginning of summer and have only recently gotten to write it. Again there is dialogue and even description from _the Fellowship_ so I do not own that, though they are pretty short parts. Also, I have taken creative liberty of what Gandalf does, though I am using the timeline found in the appendices to figure out where he was when. Also, if you're reading both versions of the sequel you will notice more and more overlap especially as the story progresses—don't think I'm copping out, just some scenes need to be a specific way for plot and the story. Anyways, thank you to those that have reviewed, and put this on favorite or alert. Please enjoy ~ with love, depressedchildren

Key:

"Text" westron language

_"Text"_ either japanese or sindarin (both in the case of the girls)

_Kusanagi_ a name/title (i.e. _Prancing Pony_)

* * *

_Chapitre 2_

* * *

_**3017 October 1**_

Aragorn looked around him, the Nazgûl had appeared out of nowhere and-and… He had tried, he had tried so hard, but-but he had failed. He did his best to drive them away with fire, but… He clutched at his head. They were all dead. The girls, his nieces, had been torn limb from limb. He could still hear their screams, and then the hobbits. Oh the hobbits! Their innards were rotting about him, pulled out of them. The ring was lost, the Witch King took it. The Eye in the East would spread its power all over Middle Earth.

He heard the crunching of grass behind him and the unsheathing of a sword. Had the Nazgûl decided to be merciful after killing everyone he had pledged to protect? He turned his head—he was not one to shy away from his death; he would look his murderer in the face with no fear. Black eyes with a red design spun in a hypnotizing fashion as blood ran down a familiar blacksmith's face

"My friend," Aragorn began but his words caught in his throat.

"My daughters are dead," Sasuke stated lowly, his anger was so clear and terrifying.

In the blink of an eye, Aragorn fell to the ground screaming, clutching at the stump that was now his right arm. Somehow he was aware a leg had been severed… then, then lightning raced through his body. He couldn't keep from screaming. His friend was saying something but he wasn't sure what it was; only that he had betrayed the blacksmith. Aragorn could not stop screaming.

"Strider!" Aragorn snapped awake, panting heavily where he now sat with a dagger drawn, his throat felt hoarse. It was a dream…the hobbits were alive, and the twins had paused in sharpening their weapons. Dawn was likely still on watch or scouting. She offered to take the last watch, despite his protests. Last watch was always the worst for one could not go straight back to sleep, but had to be stay awake from the start of his shift and on through the day.

"Strider?" Frodo asked him softly, he looked concerned. Aragorn looked away from the hobbit. The horrors of his nightmare plagued him even as he stood there awake.

"_Did you have a bad dream Ojisan?"_ Tinnu asked innocently enough. He was not happy with any of them, they all deliberately disobeyed him.

"_Yes,"_ Aragorn got up and began to pack up his things, it was dawn, and if they waited much longer they would lose valuable sunlight to get away from their pursuers. _"You all died and your father began to torture me to death,"_ his tone was cold and short. He didn't want to look at any of them.

"I-I'll wake the others," Frodo mumbled as he scrambled to get to his feet. Perhaps the hobbit was alarmed by what Aragorn said, it was expected of Bilbo Baggins's heir to know sindarin. Aragorn smirked slightly as he pulled the string tight on his pack. Frodo's clear discomfort served him right for endangering his nieces.

Aragorn sighed and straightened up. Sasuke was his friend, almost like a brother…it was hard to think of him like the man he had seen in his dream; however, he knew his friend could be vicious in the name of his family. He nearly strangled his wife after waking from a dream where his daughters were harmed by her. Aragorn had no delusions that he wouldn't be targeted if the blacksmith's children were hurt. But what could he do in this scenario? The girls were determined to disobey him and follow them no matter what.

He shook his head and frowned slightly. He couldn't keep up his anger, it wasn't in him. Yes he was infuriated by the lack of regard for his nieces' safety, which was shown by both the hobbits and the girls in question, but what use was it to stay mad? He had to focus on keeping them all safe, and that was just what he would do.

He could stay angry with them for another day, he decided and felt a little vindicated. Aragorn looked behind him at the sound of banging pots. "What are you doing?" he asked the hobbits. Pippin and Sam looked up at him like he was crazy.

"We're having breakfast, Strider!" Pippin chirped.

Merry had the right idea to look uncertain and Frodo was smart enough to quickly begin backing away from the little fire Sam was trying to start.

"If you want a big, hearty breakfast, then you will wake up before dawn and make it so we may leave by dawn," Aragorn stated in a clipped tone. When Pippin was about to protest, Aragorn cut him off, "We are being pursued by deadly creatures, we do **not** have time to dally like this," Aragorn spun on his heel and began to march on.

Dawn touched down beside him. She looked a little tired but the energy in her eyes suggested she was ready to run leagues if need be. "All clear, and there were no disturbances," she stated quickly.

Aragorn hummed but otherwise did not acknowledge what his niece said. She looked down, blushing.

"_We just want to help…"_ she fell back a pace while one hand fingered her bow anxiously.

Aragorn flinched at his niece's tone. She sounded like a little girl, not the confident young woman he knew her to be. He sighed; _"I know my niece, I know…"_she looked up at him, a little hopeful but his grim face made her look back down in shame. Good, she understood she was not forgiven quite yet. None of them would be. _"Give me a few more days, Dawn"_

The young woman nodded and fell back to her sisters who were trying to get the hobbits to hurry up. Aragorn knew they were in just as somber a mood as Dawn, for they were not joking or smiling. He could hold onto his anger and disappointment for just one more day, just one more day; otherwise, they would not understand the depth to which they disappointed him. He genuinely worried for them, and he had expected them to respect his demands.

He felt too old for this. With a grim smile he trudged on, going at a sedate pace for when the ponies caught up, then he would increase his speed little by little. They would be approaching a bog soon, which might be dangerous for the ponies. They could easily sprain their ankles on unseen roots or holes. Or perhaps an adder might get them.

He shook his head. Their pursuers could not know they were traveling this way, and they could not know that the ring was already this far from the Shire. Those were small reliefs, but they made Aragorn hopeful for a safe passage.

…

Sasuke couldn't stop pacing. He tried to go to sleep, though it was futile. He perhaps got an hour's worth of sleep spread out over the course of the night. No matter, "Madara" and Orochimaru had trained him to need little sleep. Sleeping a full eight hours had been a common occurrence these past seventeen years, when before it had been a luxury he could not afford. He could do without it again; he wouldn't be a good ninja if he couldn't.

He briefly wondered how the dobe was. Had she made it to Konoha safely, as much as he hated the place, he at least knew she would be safe. However, he couldn't stop from feeling anxious about her. Was she already healing, had she died? If his girls died too…

He shook his head vehemently, he couldn't think like that. His girls would be fine, they were strong fighters and their uncle was there. The ranger likely knew whatever was hunting the hobbits and so also knew how to combat them.

If he was anyone else, he could have been anxiously biting at his lip or nails; instead he paced. Was the sun up yet? He wondered idly as he peeked through the shuttered windows. No…. It was close to sunrise at least, perhaps he could tell Butterbur he was leaving his shop in his care until he brought his daughters home. Yes…surely the man was up.

Sasuke was already dressed in leather traveling breeches and tunic with a traveling vest overtop. A makeshift kunai holster was tied to his belt along with the sheath for _Kusanagi_. He pulled on his pack before he threw on his traveling cloak. The girls took all their seals, all their storage scrolls, so he had to carry a burdensome pack. Damn it! All he could really pack was a spare blanket and a water skin along with some poison and a rudimentary med-kit—just bandages, alcohol, a vial saline solution to reduce shock, and some needle and thread; what he wouldn't give for solider pills or even some adrenaline! He didn't have any rations, just some fruit that would go bad soon. At least the girls were wise enough to bring food that would last a little while. If the dobe was here she could have made more sealing paper, perhaps even made seals that would store food in the condition it was sealed…but she wasn't here.

Sasuke shook his head as he rubbed at his face. The girls were giving him premature wrinkles. Sure, in the last few years he developed some lines around his mouth and on his forehead, but with all the stress they were giving him, Sasuke was sure to end up looking like a shriveled old man soon.

He sighed again and decided to focus on what mattered, getting his girls back and what he needed to do that. Perhaps while he spoke with Butterbur he could get some rations from him. Yes, that was the plan. Sasuke nodded to himself and left his shop via the upstairs window after locking the shop up.

He had to do something, anything. If he didn't…the ground would open up under him and he would start screaming, or crying, or-or _something_. He had to keep moving, he had to get his girls back.

As he made his trek to the _Prancing Pony_, he remembered he had…intimidated—to say the least—the man he was hoping to get rations from. Shit. This was why he needed the dobe, she kept him from being too irrational, ironically.

Sasuke closed his eyes heavily. They grounded each other—he and the dobe—even when they didn't have their memories, they grounded one another. But now, now the dobe was quite possibly gone forever. Optimism was not his strong suit and he never claimed it would be—that was the dobe's specialty, to see the silver lining in everything—so he could only imagine that it had failed...that the dobe was dead.

Sasuke shook away those thoughts. Even if he might be pessimistic, Naruto was always one to persevere. She'd be back soon, teasing, and chiding, and pranking. She'd be back soon…she'd be back soon. She wouldn't die, and she had to have made it back to Konoha.

Fuck!

The part of him that lost his whole clan, the part of him that had been lied to and manipulated by everyone, whispered that she had died en route. It whispered that she was lost in some side dimension because that was what happened when Obito—Tobi-Madara-_that_ bastard— used kamui and she had the Kyuubi cloak on.

Then there was the little voice—the voice that had been betrayed so many _fucking_ times—that whispered the dobe wouldn't come back because she would move on. The dobe would rekindle her-his romance with Hinata and discard the family she built in Middle Earth.

No! She was alive, she was alive, she had to be for the girls…and also for his own sanity. And the Cyclops! He was alive, he'd bring her back here when she was healthy, and she'd _want_ to come back. She promised… The dobe never went back on her promises. She promised to return, to be there for their daughters! The Gods knew how many times he wished the dobe would have given up on that stupid promise to bring him back to Konoha but she never did! So she wouldn't break the promise she made to her family. She wouldn't…she couldn't…

_What if they don't let her leave?_

Sasuke was standing outside of the _Pony_, and at that twisted voice—one that sounded like Kabuto—he slammed his fist against the wall of the inn. The limestone cracked slightly and crumbled under his shaking fist. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

He needed the girls, he needed them. He needed to know they were safe; he needed them back so he had something to focus on besides the dobe's absence. He needed them so he didn't feel like his whole clan had been murdered again, that he had been abandoned…because that's what they did when they died, isn't it? They had abandoned him…he was just a little kid and they were all gone…

Sasuke leaned his back against the inn wall and began to breathe heavily as he shut his eyes tightly. He felt like a little kid again, everyone was gone again. Everyone had abandoned him. When he would wake up from the reoccurring nightmares of them dying, he would call for his mother and father but they would never come, no one would ever come because they had abandoned him…no! He shook his head violently. That was irrational thinking, they had _died_. Death didn't mean they abandoned him. But a voice that sounded like his younger self whispered back _yes it does._

Why was he thinking about this now? Now of all times!? He hadn't thought about his clan's destruction in what felt like years, decades even! Perhaps in passing, but never like this. He would always use his clan's destruction as a fuel, even when he discovered the real truth; it was just fuel for him. Why now was it debilitating? He had stopped thinking like this a year after the massacre. Why had it returned?

Because his children abandoned him the moment he and their mother left.

He felt numb all of a sudden. He slid down the cracked wall and stared across the dirt road at the tailor's shop.

Why would they do that? Had they been waiting for their parents to leave them on their own so they could run away? Had they always hoped for such an opportunity? Were they such terrible parents that they would want to run away from them? Sure he and the dobe didn't seem to love each other and had never been terribly affectionate with each other, but they loved _them_, they loved their children. They expressed it, they made it clear—a hell of a lot clearer than Fugaku ever did.

Or…or was it just Sasuke? Was _he_ the terrible parent and it wasn't some joint failure at parenting? The dobe had left him—to get better and they forced her to go, but she still left—and the girls followed right after her. They had always wanted their mother, they always wanted the dobe, like during those hellish years after she regained her memories. Had they just put up with him because they were young and needed someone to look after them? If they had been older when the dobe left to sort out her memories, would they have abandoned him too? Was he such a terrible father?

His family had left him again…he was all alone like after the massacre. Would the girls even want to come back if he caught up with them? Should he force them if they truly were so miserable with him? If they hated living with him?

"Ah, already here!" Sasuke shot up from the ground with a kunai in hand and pressed it against the speaker's neck. After his reflexive response for whenever he was "snuck" up on, Sasuke got a good look at his "captive." It wasn't Orochimaru, or _that_ bastard, it wasn't even Kabuto; though he did have white-gray hair.

Sasuke retracted himself from the much taller man's presence and bowed his head slightly, "I was in thought," Sasuke stated calmly, as he stowed the kunai into a pouch on his hip.

The old man hummed and shifted his knobby staff as he felt his snarled beard; somehow none of the coarse hairs had been cut from the almost assault. "I apologize for startling you Dû." Sasuke just made a noncommittal sound and folded his arms over his chest. "I assume that was an ingrained reaction, most shocking but useful," the man nodded his head and began walking toward the stable.

"I need rations," Sasuke stated, he'd have to convince Butterbur somehow. If he was the dobe he'd just have to smile and apologize.

"I received enough rations for the both of us," the old man replied. Gandalf was his name; it took a moment for Sasuke to recall that since he had been in such a rage the night before. "We have no time to waste!" Sasuke nodded numbly and stood at the entrance to the stable. He wondered if he should ask Butterbur to watch over the shop now…though he did want to get on the road as quickly as possible…perhaps he could send a clone once they left the village?

"Haven't you a horse?" Gandalf called from within. The former nuke-nin couldn't resist scoffing. He was faster than any horse, why the hell would he need one? Gandalf returned then, frowning as he led a white and gray horse out.

"Our travel will be slower with Shadowfax carrying the both of us," the old man's tone was grave.

Sasuke just scoffed again and looked away. "Worry about yourself old man." Gandalf frowned but mounted the horse and made for the eastern exit. Sasuke followed their slow pace.

"Dû I must insist you have some horse or—"

"You tell your little animal to go as fast as it can, and I'll be sure to match it." The old man huffed and glared down at him while the horse mimicked him. Was this animal actually intelligent? Was it like a summon? No, that was impossible.

"This is Shadowfax, Lord of the Mearas! He is not some _animal_."

Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes. "Does it look like I care or even know what you're talking about?" the old man and horse bristled again. Thankfully they were approaching the gate. "I meant what I said, you make that thing go as fast as he can."

"Shadowfax is not a thing! How can you be friends with Aragorn and have such a complete lack of respect for—"

"Oh look," Sasuke interrupted the old man again, "We're outside of the village." Gandalf was glaring at him venomously. "Now why don't you make your little horse go at a canter?" Sasuke sneered. This was almost as fun as pushing the dobe's buttons.

Gandalf huffed again and leaned down over the horse's neck to whisper in its ear, "Let us show this insolent man the meaning of haste, Friend."

Oh! So now the horse was a friend to the old man. He must be senile. Perhaps a summon could be a friend, but a normal animal…how lonely this Gandalf man must be. However, Sasuke did smirk at the remarkable speed "Shadowfax" took off at. He felt a chuckle bubble up, perhaps his speed would be tested. Giving the horse a few seconds head start, Sasuke began following after them. He hardly had to put any chakra into his legs.

It was immensely satisfying to see the old man turn his head to gawk at him. Sasuke just smirked at the old man before turning his head forwards again. He made sure to match their speed and keep them in the corner of his eye at all times while he scanned the area.

If the dobe was here…she'd likely make a comment about him transferring his anger onto the old man. He frankly didn't give a fuck. He'd do what he needed to keep those terrible thoughts from earlier at bay. For now he soaked up the scenery while the old man ignored him due to wounded pride.

He quickly made a shadow clone to deliver a message to Butterbur, and thankfully the old man didn't notice the puff of smoke. The gray cloaked man was too focused on his riding to pay attention to the infuriating blacksmith traveling apace with him. Sasuke smirked as the clone used the shunshin technique to travel back to Bree.

Sasuke tried to look around him for any signs of his daughters or Strider, even the black horsemen, but he saw nothing. He wouldn't bring out the sharingan until he needed to, so any little tells would have slipped his notice. However, Sasuke had to conserve as much chakra as he could, and though he had ridiculous reserves—not jinchuuriki sized but far larger than any normal shinobi should have—days of chakra-enhanced running could wear it down. And he knew there would be days of running.

Middle Earth, from the maps Aragorn showed him, was vast. It was much larger and more spread out than the Elemental Lands. The Shire alone was approximately the size of Kaze no Kuni, perhaps even Tsuchi no Kuni. Some forest, Fangorn he believed was the name, spanned about the same amount of land as Kaminari no Kuni down the boarder of Hi no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni. Vast. Middle Earth was vast! At least three Elemental Lands fit into it.

Sasuke continued to focus on pointless things as they ran because otherwise…otherwise he wasn't sure he would be able to keep running, to keep chasing after his daughters. He waited for the clone to dispel itself so he could gain that boost of chakra, but in the mean-time he just had to focus on as many trivial things as possible…or who knew what would happen.

...

Minuial sighed as she surveyed the dull landscape. By mid-morning they had fully entered the Midgewater Marshes, according to Dawn who was the designated map holder, and it was slow going. Since the majority of the party couldn't walk on water, they had to pick their way carefully across the marshes. Even Ojisan had a hard time figuring out how to cross the boggy area. Apparently the marsh was constantly changing, so even though Ojisan was super awesome and knew everything like the back of his hand, he still had trouble picking a safe path.

Things only got slower when the hobbits had to get off their ponies to guide them through the marsh. They complained far too much. Sure it was smelly and humid and the bugs were everywhere, but they could at least shut up and bear with it. How could Ojisan deal with their incessant complaining?

She grimaced at the thought of her Ojisan. He was still angry with them, but they wanted to help him! Yeah, they disobeyed him, but-but wasn't it better that they were trying to help him? She chewed her lip, she'd prove her usefulness, she would—then…then Ojisan couldn't complain or blame them. Besides, she needed to get out of Bree. There was this whole big world outside of the walls, and until now they had only been allowed to go hunting in the surrounding forests.

Minuial was practically a woman, in fact she should be considered a woman since the Red Sister visited her all those years ago! She would be getting married someday, and it would kill her to have to stay locked up in Bree. She was meant for more, she deserved to live more than some sheltered, simple life.

She was a kunoichi, and she knew from overheard conversations that her Ojisan was fighting against something evil. She knew he would never ask her family to help him, even though it was clear their special skills could be tide-turners. So she knew she had to help, she had to help no matter what. What Ojisan was fighting affected all of Middle Earth, which meant it affected Bree and their family. She had to help, especially if their abilities would be such an advantage.

Minuial knew her sisters felt the same, which was why they had all agreed in the end. They were going to do something big, something good, and-and frankly, she didn't care if she died in the process. Ninja protected their precious people, they protected their village, and that was exactly what she would do. She couldn't bear the thought of being stuck in some cage like a bird, to be something pretty to look at but utterly useless in the end.

Her parents had taught her skills; they had taught her how to fight, how to kill, how to deceive, how to defend. She would not have these skills be wasted in some small cage where they would eventually rust and be forgotten. She would not be some simple wife, she would be a warrior, she would be a kunoichi. When Dawn gets married to Haldarad she will at least have some excitement in her life. She'll get to travel with the Grey Company, she'll get to hunt and fight alongside her beloved, but what about Minuial, what about Tinnu?

No…they'd be wed off to some simple minded Bree boy who would treat them like some baby machine. She glared out at the marshes at that thought. Minuial and Tinnu wouldn't be allowed to hunt anymore or practice kenjutsu. They'd be stuck knitting clothes and cooking meals. They'd be trapped in their homes to care for some sniveling man with bad hygiene.

So they needed this. They needed this chance at freedom, this chance to be do something meaningful in their lives before they were caged up.

Ojisan couldn't understand, and she didn't expect him too. She didn't expect her Tousan to understand either, even though he'd do all he could to keep his daughters from such a dismal life of subservience to a useless simpleton. Eventually, Miniual and Tinnu would be ostracized, called spinster, and to escape the social humiliation they would marry, likely to man twice their age. They'd likely die in labor too, and what should have been a long full life would have been empty and short.

She shook her head scanned the area once more. There were clouds of "midges" and the insects were indeed infuriating, but she saw no point in yelling like the youngest hobbits of the group. Sure they got into her hair and up her sleeves and dress, but, she sighed and shook her head. Perhaps her uncle's foul mood was wearing off on her.

"I'm being eaten alive!" cried Pippin, "Midgewater! There are more midges than water!" she agreed but she noticed her uncle's tense shoulders. Usually he'd find a comment like that endearing, but…he was still so angry with them. She bit her lip and looked down at the murky water she was traveling across.

"What do they live on when they can't get hobbit?" asked Sam as he scratched at his neck. Frodo smiled weakly but he kept on walking somberly just like Merry.

They were the oldest hobbits in the company and they seemed to understand that they had gotten on Ojisan's bad side, or at least, they had deeply disappointed him.

It was quiet after that outburst and Minuial tentatively flicked her gaze toward her uncle who continued to march forward with a grim look on his face. She sighed and just wished he would understand why they were doing this, why they _must _do this! Sure the timing couldn't have been worse, but…but they wouldn't have gotten another opportunity like this.

She was relieved when Dawn signed that it was her turn to scout around. At least now she could escape the suffocating atmosphere of disappointment.

…

Sasuke stood by the old man and his "friend" impatiently. His eye was beginning to twitch a little too. He already drank a little from his water skin and had refilled it at the stream they were currently pausing at.

The old man was stroking the horse's mane as it drank from the stream. Its slivery-white coat was shimmering with sweat and Sasuke could clearly see the horse's pulse. He scoffed and looked away from the pair. They had only traveled from sunrise to sunset without any breaks; they could have gone further before taking a break.

"Dû, I understand that you are anxious to find your daughters, I too am anxious to find the hobbits they travel with, but we must remember to take care of our bodies and Shadowfax. If we exert ourselves too much now, it will only come as a hindrance later."

Sasuke looked at the man impassively before scanning the area again. The silence was heavy and uncomfortable.

"I must say," Gandalf spoke up to break the silence, "that I am impressed with your running, how are you able to do that?"

He looked at the old man again with a blank look and waited for him to shift in discomfort, but the old man proved resilient to his stare and merely met his gaze with a challenge. The tension between them was almost palpable.

At last Gandalf sighed and shook his head, "I have tried to reach out, to be genial, but you are making it very difficult."

Sasuke felt the corner of his mouth quirk upward, as he hummed, "Good." The old man glared at him.

"I could very well dismiss you from my presence," the old man challenged as he stood up straighter to tower over Sasuke. Sasuke just scoffed, "You do not know what I am capable of, Blacksmith."

Sasuke felt something tug at the edge of his mind, almost like a genjutsu. He glared at the man whose voice seemed wash over him in a dominating sort of way, "I am more than I appear and I do not need your aid or presence to find the company of hobbits and protect them from their pursuers. You can leave."

Sasuke felt himself take a step toward Bree without his mind's consent. He could feel it now; it was like a genjutsu but more powerful. He glared at the man even as his body took another step toward Bree. Finally, his eyes shifted red with three tomoe markings. He broke the genjutsu and glared defiantly up at the old and now shocked man.

"I dare you to try that again," he walked up to the stunned man and relished in his surprise. The horse snorted beside them, clearly annoyed and angry. Sasuke flickered his gaze towards it before looking back at Gandalf, "And I promise, as soon as I find my girls, you will be of no more use to me and I will…enjoy…putting you through hell," Sasuke smirked as his eyes shifted into the eternal sharingan.

Gandalf remained where he stood and he remained standing tall. He would not be intimidated it seemed. Sasuke smirked to himself; it would be fun using tsukiyomi on him.

"What are you?" Gandalf asked at last.

"Someone you better not cross or involve in your fucking war," the man seemed to bristle at the vulgarity but Sasuke didn't give a flying fuck.

"The war will come to Bree if those hobbits do not make it safely to Rivendell, and even then, there is no guarantee."

Saskue scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, "I don't care if a fucking battalion comes to Bree's gates, I will destroy them to protect my family," he felt like the dobe who always spouted off about protecting her precious ones, but it was true now. Sasuke would do everything in his power to protect his family.

"And how do you intend to do that?"

Sasuke smirked again, "With the flames of the Sun Goddess and the wraith of the wind."

Gandalf looked at him in confusion, his large eyebrows furrowed deeply, "You say such strange things, and these attacks you anticipate using sound like the abilities of an Istar, but you are not one of us."

"I don't know what you said, and I don't care to know." Sasuke turned around and let the charka leave his eyes. "We've wasted enough time, if your "faithful friend" is done resting, we should continue on."

Gandalf sighed but complied none the less, "We will ride for a few more hours before we rest. I intend to make for Weathertop, there we may seize a wide view of the surrounding area, and perhaps even catch sight of the company.

Sasuke hummed but they soon began traveling again.

* * *

_**3017 October 2**_

Minuial frowned, the night before had been cold and damp and _loud_. She couldn't agree more with the hobbits about those insidious Neekerbreekers—name courtesy of Sam—that hid in the tussocks and kept them all up with their neek-breeking. She pinched the bridge of her nose and as one of the hobbits complained about the bugs again and then complained about getting swap water on his clothes.

She tentatively looked over at her uncle to gauge his reaction to the Hobbits' complaints. He still looked grim and disappointed, but there was a slight quirk to his lips—and not in a sadistic way, more of an endearing way.

"Fear not Hobbits," he began, his tone was much more pleasant than it had been for the past two days—it was almost comical how Sam and Pippin sagged in relief. "Tonight will likely be our last night in the marshes. Tomorrow we will begin heading North-East and make for Weathertop from the North."

"Are we making good-time then, Strider?" Pippin asked eagerly, happy that the ranger was no longer giving them the cold shoulder.

"Yes and no," Ojisan replied, "If we had been on foot I suppose this would be our fourth day out from Bree, but it is only our third…the marshes have slowed down our pace considerably and none of are you nimble enough to weave through the quagmires, but we are sure to have lost what little trial our pursuers had on us."

The hobbits seemed relieved and Minuial smiled a little. She could tell he was still disappointed with them, still angry at their disobedience, but Ojisan was willing to focus on their mission more than on his disappointment. It was a relief actually. She knew they weren't off the hook yet, not by any means, but…but at least was he was being warmer.

She grinned over at her twin who signed exactly what Minuial had been thinking. Today's travel was looking up, especially since they seemed to be coming closer to the end of the marshes.

…

Sasuke stared out around him, but despite the wide stretch of land and endless sky, he felt like it was all pressing in on him. They had been traveling in a tense silence and though Sasuke was relieved to not have to communicate with the old man, he needed something to break his thoughts. Every second he thought back to the dobe and the girls abandoning him, not even mindless geographic facts were helping him.

Gandalf had tried to offer Sasuke some of the rations but he had shaken his head, he had some fruit left to eat before he lowered himself to asking for rations…besides, the apple he had eaten that morning had tasted of ash. He needed to find the girls, he needed them damn it!

"You seem disturbed, distracted," Gandalf commented and Sasuke glared at the old man as they continued the road. Occasionally they broke off onto the smaller paths to see if the company was there, but they had had no luck.

"Mind your own business."

The old man made a huffing noise before he spurred the horse more, "And what if your thoughts become a hindrance when we fight our enemies?"

"They won't."

The old man sighed, "I'm sure you're worried about your daughters but Aragorn is a very capable—"

"I know that, and my daughters are also quite capable; however, this enemy is what concerns me more." If the man was demanding to talk, fine, so be it, Sasuke would let the man assume he was worried about their safety—which he was, he was just more preoccupied by the possibility that they had abandoned him for being terrible father.

"Ah, yes, it would be good to tell you what we will be facing," Gandalf nodded sagely as he continued to spur Shadowfax onwards. The man seemed to have finally resigned himself to the fact that Sasuke could keep up with him and his horse.

Sasuke made a noncommittal noise in response to the old man's statement. He wanted to roll his eyes. No shit that might be good.

"They are Ring Wraiths, Nazgûl," Gandalf began as he glanced over at the former nuke-nin. Sasuke knew his expression showed no signs of recognition for the terms used. The old man sighed and shook his head. "You know nothing about the Ring of Power?"

Sasuke snorted slightly at the name of this supposedly fearsome article. "Ring of power?" he asked incredulously which only made the man bristle further and look furious.

"This is no laughing matter! Should the enemy take hold of it all hope will be lost!" Sasuke looked unimpressed which made the old man shake his head gravely.

"Well excuse me," Sasuke replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes again, "but when you've fought demons, a ring does not seem that intimidating."

The man looked nonplussed and blinked several times, "Demons?"

"Yes, constructs of pure, destructive energy that can't actually die, just dissipate before reforming." He had no loyalty to the Elemental Lands, thus he saw no harm in telling the man what he had faced before. Though if he thought he could drag his family into their ring affairs, he was dead wrong.

Gandalf looked slightly disturbed but then his eyes lit up as a thought came to him, "Then think of this…one of those energy constructs, say the strongest, has been weakened but a large part of that construct resides within a ring, should the ring be returned to the damaged construct, it would regain all its former power."

Sasuke supposed he could see the gravity of the situation, but it was still nothing compared to resurrecting the Juubi. Also the strongest individual biju was the Kyuubi and like hell the dobe would let that loose; besides, half of the Kyuubi already did reside in a shinigami's stomach. So it was comical to image whatever enemy Gandalf was speaking of to be like the Kyuubi. The man shook his head at Sasuke's unimpressed expression.

"On top of that, think of this construct being in control of a vast army of enhanced warriors, as well as being able to twist one's mind to do its bidding."

"Sounds like my former handler," Sasuke replied casually, he relished in the shock on the old man's face. "But he could still die like any man…him and his army of corpses," Sasuke gritted his teeth at the reminder, at the betrayal. Over and over again, he had been betrayed time and again, manipulated and used like some kind of puppet.

He glared at the expanse before him, and could almost feel the pitying look he was receiving from Gandalf. He growled under his breath, "Well get on with your story," he snapped and the old man bristled again.

"This construct is called Sauron. He created rings of power which he gave to the various races:

Three for the Eleven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for the Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,

One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie."

"Pretty," Sasuke sneered which caused his traveling companion to glare at him. Sasuke met the glare and just raised an eyebrow, "So?" he asked indifferently when in truth he had felt a chill crawl up his spine as the other recited the poem.

He knew people here talked a lot, but he was beginning to wonder if perhaps…if perhaps there was power in their words. Like when the old man tried to use an equivalent of a genjutsu on him. All he had done was speak, yet it felt like another chakra, another will, was pressing in on him. He regarded the man in a calculative fashion. Perhaps there was power in speech, especially in men like Gandalf, who implied he was an Istar? Whatever that was…

"These rings Sauron made gave him power over the other races, especially over men. He knows always where the other rings are, but not his own, only when it is worn does he know where it is. The ring bearers are tied to him, especially the longer they have been with their rings."

"And you know this how?" Sasuke asked dryly as they continued on.

"Because I bear one of the three," Gandalf replied almost hesitantly.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow and looked slightly nonplussed. "Aren't elves supposed to be eternally youthful," he shuddered slightly at how similarly structured that sentence was to something two horrible, green-clad men would shout.

Instead of being offended, Gandalf looked slightly amused, "I was gifted my ring from one of the elven kings," he then sobered and stared forward again, "the nine men were corrupted by the rings and quickly fell under Sauron's control. Now they live to serve him as wraiths, ever in search of the One Ring their master desires."

"Why do the other races continue to use their rings?" If this Sauron was so evil and corrupting, why keep the rings, why not destroy them all so there would be no chance for him to influence them?

"For the men…well all men desire power, but what they fear even more is weakness," Sasuke stumbled slightly, but caught but up with Gandalf and the horse. He shut his eyes at the truth of that statement. He had been driven for power, but he was even more afraid of weakness, of being too weak to avenging his clan, but now he feared being too weak to protect his family.

"Even after Sauron's betrayal was learned of, the men continued to use his gift. They were afraid to become weak, for their rings gave them strength, or rather, what they perceived as strength. As for the Dwarves, most of their rings have been lost, and as I'm sure you can imagine, the Elves are…more resilient to Sauron's evil."

"And what of you?" he eyed the old man warily. He did not want him near his daughters if he could become one of those wraiths.

His eyes crinkled up, "Nothing to worry of. I am not a normal man who is easily corrupted, though the One Ring would corrupt all who tried to wield it," Gandalf's expression darkened as he stated the last part about the One Ring. "Even if for good," he murmured before shaking his head again.

Sasuke glared slightly at the horizon as he pieced together the information, "So…these Ring Wraiths, were they the nine men?" Gandalf nodded and Sasuke hummed, "What abilities do they have?"

"Their blades are poisoned and could turn any victim that lived into one of them, a wraith at the service of the Dark Lord. They have some wariness to light and fire, and so usually travel by night. It is also said that no man can kill them, or rather, kill their leader. In the hundreds of years they have existed, and all the battles they have fought in, none of them have been defeated. Driven away, yes, but defeated…" Gandalf shook his head gravely.

So they were immortal… well…Hidan was supposedly immortal but that lazy Nara had defeated him. Damn it! He wished the dobe was here with her fuin knowledge, perhaps she could find a way to seal theses wraiths like she had the Edo Tensei corpses.

"Will Strider be able to drive them away?" he hoped his girls would be clever, that they would be prepared to fight with all they had should Sasuke not make it to them in time.

"Yes, he knows fire will drive them off and he is resourceful."

Sasuke nodded slightly as he continued to glare at the horizon and the slowly setting sun.

"We should rest for a few hours before we continue on," Gandalf suggested, before pointing off to the right, "there is a stream over there."

"Tired?" Sasuke challenged and the man shot him another glare, almost in disbelief, but then something flashed in his eyes and he began to chuckle. What the hell? Had he finally gone completely senile?

He was now giving Sasuke a fond smile and the Uchiha could not stop the tick that had now formed under his eye. Seriously, what the hell? The man could barely tolerate him before their conversation!

"For Shadowfax's sake, I think we should rest," the man responded with that damn smile on his face. Sasuke just glared at the man but followed him and as he veered Shadowfax off the road and toward the stream he had mentioned.

…

Dawn watched as her sisters set up their bedding. They were near the end of the marshes; there were just a few straggling pools left, though the bugs were still following them in a thick cloud. She watched the twins, and they seemed happier than they had been yesterday, but then again, their uncle had been warmer towards the company today. That must be the reason why. She bit her lip as she looked toward her uncle.

Dawn had first watch and Ojisan had the last watch. The hobbits were also given watches but they were always paired up with one of them—them meaning Ojisan, Dawn and her sisters.

She moved toward her uncle hesitantly but then crouched beside him as he began to find a comfortable place on the ground, _"Neh, Ojisan…"_she began hesitantly. He looked at her with one eye open. It was filled with fatigue, anxiety, and stress.

She had a feeling being here with her siblings had only added to his stress. She knew they were dear to him and that he was also worried about how their father would react, but Tousan couldn't fault Ojisan! No matter how many times Ojisan might try to push them away from his mission, they would come right back, and maybe even hide their presence from him.

"_Yes Dawn?"_

"_I know you are still angry at us…" _she began and gauged his reaction. His expression became hard and shut off. He even closed his eyes as if to ignore her, _"Ojisan!" _she called in a mixture of exasperation and desperateness, _"Ojisan, please…we just want to help you and…"_ she looked over at her sisters who were watching them discreetly.

"_Ojisan…with Haldarad I can be myself. I can be a strong warrior and hunter, but the twins…what fate will they have when they are forced to marry? This is their chance for adventure and something meaningful before they are wed. They are already getting too old by Bree standards to be single and childless." _

She noted that her uncle flinched slightly before he sat up and motioned the twins over. The twins were crouched beside him in the blink of an eye, which startled the hobbits.

"_So this is all for a chance at adventure?" _he asked in disappointment, _"You three are women!"_ he whispered at them, clearly not wanting to draw Frodo's attention, he seemed to be the only one in the company that knew sindarin. _"Your duty is to your parents or husband, yet here you three are! You are willing to risk your lives for adventure when it is completely unbecoming of you,"_ he sighed heavily and pinched at the bridge of his nose, _"Not to mention the pain you are putting your father through. What is he supposed to think? All of you run off leaving him entirely alone after having to send his wife away and losing a child?_

"_You have disobeyed me and have set me up to betray your father. I have the hobbits to protect as well as you three. Our pursuers are no normal creatures, they are…they are immortal, do you understand me? They cannot be defeated, only driven away. I do not wish to risk you three, yet you have given me no choice."_

Dawn felt her heart sink into her stomach, she wanted to say they could fight, that they were meant for more than just being good daughters and wives, but the words caught in her throat.

She nodded her head and tried to remain strong, "Hai, Ojisan….I will begin my watch," she coughed slightly against the tightness in her throat and, to all but her siblings, she flickered out of existence. She was then followed by the twins.

The twins had already set up seals to warn if there were intruders, as well as seals that would hide them from outside presences. They had scouted ahead for a good camp and had got to work immediately so that little time was wasted before the hobbits could begin making a dinner.

When her younger sisters came up to her, she couldn't hold her tears back anymore and she began to cry. Why couldn't Ojisan understand!? Minuial and Tinnu latched onto her as they all cried. They were just trying to help, they were just trying to be meaningful. Of course their uncle would never understand. He was from here where women were weak and just child bearers. He didn't understand that they could be warriors too. His disappointment was crushing, and it was killing them with its weight.

No! They had to be strong, they had to show Ojisan and the hobbits and all of them that they were stronger, better, and that they were needed! She straightened and pulled away from her sisters.

"_Let's prove Ojisan wrong,"_ she whispered in their mélange of languages. The twins nodded, determination shimmered in their eyes alongside tears.

"_Let's!"_

* * *

_**3017 October 3 **_

They had fully left the Midgewater Marshes on the fourth day. Aragorn had hopped the girls would not have brought up their disobedience again but they had and it had set him in a bad mood. He glared across at what remained of the marshes. He had hardly been able to sleep as he replayed the brief conversation he had with them.

Part of him felt remorse for being too hard on him, and another part of him reminded him they were not normal Middle Earth girls; however he did not retract what he said. They had a duty to their father that they were completely neglecting. He wished he knew more of his friend's past so that he might guess just how he was reacting, but Aragorn did not and therefore could not fathom what his friend was thinking.

They had camped just at the boarder of the marshes where the land began to rise, so an hour after sunrise they had fully left the marshes and were once more on solid ground. Away in the East was a line of hills that they previously could not be seen. The highest of them was at the right of the line and a little separated from the others. It had a conical top, and was slightly flattened at the summit. He smiled slightly, there was their goal.

"That is Weathertop," he announced to the hobbits, "The Old Road, which we have left far away on our right, runs to the south of it and passes not far from its foot. We might reach it by tomorrow morning, if we go straight towards it," he paused for a moment almost uncertain. It might be advantageous to head straight towards it, for there was a good chance that Gandalf would make for there if he had been behind them. "I suppose we had better do so."

"What do you mean?" asked Fordo, his eyes briefly flickered to the girls who had been quiet since last night. Perhaps he wondered if they could help them travel discreetly…that was a possibility.

"I mean: when we do get there, it is not certain what we shall find. It is close to the Road," Aragorn replied, as he too glanced to his nieces, he worried they might be spotted and his nightmare from the other day would become true.

"But surely we were hoping to find Gandalf there?" Fordo sounded so hopeful, almost painfully so.

"Yes; but the hope is faint. If he comes this way at all, he may not pass through Bree, and so he may not know what we were doing. And anyway, unless by luck we arrive almost together, we shall miss one another; it will not be safe for him or for us to wait there long. If the Riders fail to find us in the wilderness, they are likely to make for Weathertop themselves. It commands a wide view all round. Indeed, there are many birds and beasts in this country that could see us, as we stand here, from that hill-top. Not all the birds are to be trusted and there are other spies more evil than they are."

These were his fears and anxieties since setting out in the hope that they might come across Gandalf along their travels. It was truly a faint and foolish hope. He wondered if he should warn the girls of possible spies, such as crows.

The hobbits looked anxiously at the distant hills, and Sam in particular looked up fearfully at the sky, as if some great bird might swoop down upon him. But the girls, they seemed…they seemed determined and unfazed.

"You do make me feel uncomfortable and lonesome, Strider!" Sam said as he continued to look up at the sky warily.

"What do you advise us to do?" asked Frodo, though the hobbit had acted as leader before in their company, he now looked to the Ranger for advice, and rightly so when it came to traveling.

"I think," he began slowly as he tried to decide what best to do. Though he was the expert in this scenario, he was still uncomfortable with the leadership role he was being pushed into, this was another reason he was almost fearful to take up the mantel of the king.

"I think the best thing is to go as straight eastward from here as we can, to make for the line of hills, not for Weathertop. There we can strike a path I know runs at their feet; it will bring us to Weathertop from the north and less openly. Then we shall see what we shall see."

Sam still looked up at the sky fearfully and the other hobbits looked wary of the openness around them.

"Kaasan taught us a seal that hides one from unfriendly eyes. It takes a lot of chakra to activate, and it has to be modified for the person who wears it, but we can start work on them as we travel," Tinnu stated confidently while Dawn shot her look.

Aragorn frowned as well. He knew little about the seals the girls made with their mother, but he did recall them blowing up many a time with a wrong brush stroke. "Though those seals would be benefit, I do not think it is wise to experiment now. Besides, do not the ones these seals are applied to need…chakra, as well?"

Minuial had her mouth open to retort before she closed it. "We could modify it…" she began lamely before looking away.

Dawn shifted for a moment, "I could put an illusion on us," she stated as her eyes bleed from black to red. Aragorn thought for a moment before nodding hesitantly. Dawn just nodded before she ran through hand signs.

The twins shuddered, as if something had settled onto their shoulders. Their sister continued to hold her hands in a strange formation but then Minuial slipped in front of her sister so that Dawn's arms were held in front of her sister's face. Minuila then grabbed her sister by the back of her legs to carry her on her back. The hobbits looked at them startled, and were even more startled that Minuial was still able to keep up with their ponies when she had the older girl on her back. From what Aragorn could understand, Dawn had to hold her hands in that position and focus entirely on her genjutsu, otherwise it would fail.

It was a cold and dreary day, and the hobbits shivered atop their faithful ponies. Before dusk they had arrived at a stream that ran from the hills down into the stagnant marshes they had left behind. They climbed the banks of the stream and followed it until they came upon a cluster of stunted alder-trees. It was little protection from prying eyes, but it was better than nothing.

When they had come to the camp the sun was nearly set but they dared not light a fire. Minuial set her sister down who collapsed to the side panting heavily. Sweat matted her hair and she looked as if she had run for leagues. Within seconds of being set on the ground she drifted off to sleep.

Aragorn felt anxious and far more exposed than he had felt earlier. "We will draw watches," he announced in a voice barely above a whisper. The hobbits all nodded, "Dawn may be excluded from it." The twins were mumbling something along the lines of chakra exhaustion and Aragorn felt fear for his niece. Chakra was their life force from what he remembered of his friend's explanation, a life force his children had been born with.

"Do either of you know illusions?" Pippin asked in a small voice as he looked around the darkening area. The girls shook their heads, but Tinnu opened a scroll that carried a number seals within it. They were the usual seals they set up around their camps.

The girls then began to set up a perimeter with those seals and once done they sat back down in the center next to their sister. They then drew out blank paper, and in the waxing light of the moon they began to recreate the seals they had just set. Aragorn felt slightly better now that there was something protecting him, though he did have his doubts about their usefulness. Did these seals truly protect them?

…

It was their third day out of Bree and they still had seen no sight of the hobbits or Sasuke's daughters. Mid-day they stopped once more for water before continuing on. Around dusk they arrived at a dell just below Weathertop. It almost looked like it had been a camp for others, and recently. There was a fresh stack of cut wood for a fire, perhaps this was frequented by rangers? Gandalf guessed the same it seemed.

"Well, let us climb to the top and see what we shall see," the man stated tiredly as he let Shadowfax graze. Sasuke agreed with the elderly man and matched his long strides toward the base of the structure. "This was one a watch-tower—"

"Don't care," Sasuke cut the man off before he began to wall walk up the rock surface.

Gandalf had been chuckling at his behavior but quickly ended up gawking at him. "How are you doing that!?" he asked incredulously.

Sasuke just hummed before stating "Hurry up, Old man." Gandalf bristled slightly at his attitude but then shook his head and directed a slight smile at him. Sasuke glared in return and continued his walk vertically up the hill.

He really did not want to know what that crazy old man was thinking. They had barely talked that day, yet when they did the man would always end up smiling instead of being pissed off. It was almost like he was indulging Sasuke…and it sort of reminded him of the dobe…like the old man had figure him out in a way Sasuke wasn't aware of and now found his prickly attitude endearing.

He closed his eyes tightly in annoyance. The dobe was like that, she figured him out and…and before the cursed seal, Sasuke had seen the dobe as a brother of sorts…a rival and friend. Now she was his wife and…and best friend. She was an annoyance—that would never change—but she knew him so well and…and that tender part he had for her because of the children she gave him…

He shook away those sentimental feelings and closed his eyes tighter. Because it was possible she might never return.

He took a deep breath once he reached the top. He looked around and saw Shadofax below at the foot of the hill. Then he looked northeast and paused. He narrowed his gaze and glared a stream that wound its way off toward some sort of lowland, perhaps a marsh? However, that was not what caught his attention…no…

Sasuke pushed some chakra into his eyes and gazed that way again. Then he saw it! In a cluster of stunted trees was a shimmer. It was so slight yet it was there. He was ready to jump off of the hill and race toward the shimmer. It was not an illusion exactly, but it acted like one; or rather, this shimmer was caused by one of the dobe's seals. He felt relief; however, it was destroyed when his gaze flickered to the west. There was a black shape darting for Weathertop, and then there was another, and another. Those Ring Wraiths—Nazgûl, or whatever else they were called—were converging on their position.

Gandalf had arrived at this point, he was panting and huffing slightly, but his gaze quickly caught riders approaching them. "They've spotted us now," he stated with a drawn expression.

"And I found the company," Sasuke stated, his voice was tight with fear for his children.

"What!? Where?" the old man was just as panicked.

"They've set up seals my do-wife made," Sasuke corrected himself. "They won't be seen unless these Nazgûl can see through illusions."

"If I am able to see them, there is a good chance the enemy will be able to too, though there is no guarantee."

"Then we'll have to distract them either way and scatter them away from my family." Sasuke then pointed toward the cluster of trees and Gandalf shook his head.

"I cannot see anything."

Sasuke nodded his head but he felt no relief. "Should we set up a trap?"

"No trap can hold a Ring Wraith," the old man stated gravely, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I meant a lethal trap."

The elderly man still shook his head, "They will be upon us soon."

Sasuke glared at the old man. That was no reason for why they couldn't prepare a trap. Sasuke mentally thought about what weapons he had on him. He had no explosive tags, no ninja-wire, but he did have ten kunai, three shuriken, _Kusanagi, _and he had some alcohol he supposed he could make an explosive out of, though he was reserving that for any wounds he might have to disinfect. He gritted his teeth; he wouldn't even be able to _make _a proper trap anyway.

And so he and Gandalf moved to the center of Weathertop where there was a ring of stones that must be the remains of the watchtower Gandalf had mentioned.

Instead of coming up the main path where they might have ended up in a bottleneck, the Nazgûl came up from all sides. Sasuke glared at the hooded and cloaked creatures. His sharingan began to spin with the eternal sharingan and he set the first one he saw ablaze with Amaterasu, however it just gave an inhuman shriek of pain. The black flames consumed the creature's robes and did burn the creature yet it was _still_ alive! He could see it as some shimmering ethereal being, an aged human with a long beard and sunken dead eyes. If Naruto was here, she'd call it a ghost and try to hide—well, that was assuming the dobe was still terrified of ghosts.

He glared at it all the more for reminding him of the dobe's stupidity, even if he now found it endearing.

"You killed one of them!?" Gandalf asked in surprise from where he had his staff raised and a bright fire leapt from the end of it. He also had a sword drawn and it shone in the fire's light.

"No," he gritted out before launching a kunai at the uncloaked wraith. It shrieked as the kunai embedded where its heart ought to be, but what horrified Sasuke was that the kunai burst into a million pieces on impact and the thing _still_ wasn't dead. However, he noticed the uncloaked one was no longer moving toward him and was taking agonizingly slow steps backwards. In fact, the uncloaked Nazgûl seemed to have a hard time moving and staying in one piece, like it might disperse into the wind without its cloak.

He saw two more wraiths coming closer but he dared not draw _Kusanagi_ lest it shatter like his kunai. His chikotō was just a normal sword with no special properties. He could add charka to it to make it cut through anything, but it was not like his original. If his kunai could be destroyed so easily, his precious sword could be too.

He watched as half of the cloaked things were focused on Gandalf who dual wielded his sword and staff. Fire burst in an inferno from the end of the staff while the old man blocked their poisonous blades with his sword. He was deceptively agile and skilled, not as skilled as Sasuke or Aragorn, but he was certainly better than the dobe could ever hope to be at kenjutsu.

Sasuke glared at his portion of the Nazgûl and began to run through the familiar hand signs for the katon: gōkakyū technique. It felt so good to have his fire aligned chakra build in his throat and then to expel the chakra out through his mouth and focused through his hand. This must be what an addict feels when taking a hit after a very long time of sobriety. His throat even tingled a little after he expelled the chakra.

The two Nazgûl it hit shrieked and stepped backwards.

"Truly Dû, what are you?" Gandalf asked, "You are and cannot be an Istar."

"Do you really think **now** is the best time for this?" Sasuke glared at his opponents, who were now on fire but still advancing. What the hell!? Already, after the two fire techniques he used the atmosphere was clouding up. One more fire aligned technique should be enough to create a natural storm cloud. He doubted it would help him but he may as well try.

As he ran through the hand signs and drew on his fire aligned chakra, he could hear a rumbling begin in the clouds above them and he could smell ozone in the air. He finished the signs for the katon: hōsenka technique and watched as the Nazgûl tried to bat away the flying balls of fire racing toward them. They failed and their screeches rose high into the air. These creatures were not quick and agile like a ninja, therefore there had been absolutely no hope for them to dodge his attack.

"Old man, you stay close beside me for my next attack," he hissed out as he began to prepare for one of his strongest lightning attacks; however the storm above them was fairly weak, he just hopped it might scare away these things or at least stun them. He couldn't have them see his children or go after them; he had to do something to drive them away.

The dark sky began to light up with the occasional lightning flash. He grinned and ran through the appropriate signs for the kirin. It would be the weakest kirin he had ever made, but at least it should stun them if not scorch the area they were around. Gandalf gasped as he looked up, but he quickly focused back on his enemies who had paused at the change in weather.

"Are you the one doing this?" the old man asked in a whispering voice before he began muttering a long string of words under his breath. Sasuke hadn't heard him earlier but now he deduced that the man had to say some sort of incantation to make his attacks work.

"Yes and no. We've both released enough fire techniques into the atmosphere to generate these conditions; I'm just taking advantage of it." He snagged onto the natural lightning in the air and channeled a scant amount of chakra through it to form his technique. "Let's see if they can fear?" he smirked as the giant creature of electricity appeared from the sky and charged down at a cluster of the creatures.

Gandalf gasped again but this time at the sight of the lightning creature as it raced to the ground. He pressed closer to Sasuke and the former nuke-nin smirked to himself; however, it faltered when one of the Nazgûl got back up and gave a screech to the now cowering creatures. It was as if this Nazgûl was their leader and it was ordering the rest them to keep fighting.

How?

In his anger he began to form a chidori in his hand and raced toward the closet Nazgûl. He was satisfied when his fist sunk through where its heart should be, but then as his lightning aligned chakra dissipated throughout the creature he felt a stabbing cold.

He dropped to the ground even as his opponent fled from him. The cold radiated up through his arm and through his chest in sharp waves of pain. He couldn't breathe for a moment and could only gasp. After the initial flare of pain he could breathe slightly better but when Sasuke tried to move his fingers, he couldn't. It was as if his hand had been frozen. He clutched at the area above where his arm had gone through the creature and stared at the pale, almost translucent color it was turning. He staggered to his feet and raced back to Gandalf's position.

"I've tried my strongest techniques and they haven't backed off."

He supposed he could use his modified forms of Susanoo but he was already feeling a strain on his chakra after the days of running, the wall walk, and the chakra intensive techniques he had used. He also knew there was no guarantee that if they survived this skirmish, he would have time to recuperate and raise his chakra reserves. He had been careless and was already injured. He looked for the uncloaked Nazgûl but he no longer saw it on the plateau.

"They see us as a threat, one they must eliminate for their master."

"How the hell do you know that?" Sasuke hissed as he glared at the advancing creatures. Damn it! He couldn't even use his hand now. He glared down at his twitching hand, which he now couldn't feel at all. "Cover me, I need to heal my hand,"

With one hand Sasuke began to channel healing chakra into his usable hand and placed it against his damaged arm. He tried a simple jutsu for frostbite but it did nothing, so then he tried to look at the tenketsu in his arm.

He gasped and cursed. They were all closed and it looked like there had been minor damage to the nerves, if his scan was correct. Fuck! He didn't have the medical knowledge to fix this.

He tried his best to channel the right kind of chakra to open the tenketsu points again, but he didn't think he would have enough time with their enemies encroaching on them. He closed his eyes and continued to focus on his tenketsu points. He had to survive this…for his girls.

…

Tinnu stared up at the sky in shock. She couldn't quite make out what was happening on Weathertop but she had a damn good idea what it was. The giant electrical construct was also a dead giveaway.

"Strider, what is that light?" Frodo asked in a gasp of fear and amazement. Tinnu watched her awed uncle as he stared up at the towering hill.

"It is like lightning that leaps up from the hill…"

"It's Tousan," Tinnu stated her eyes hard with fear. What could make her father use such jutsu? She felt silence fall around them, and she wondered if the hobbits were scared of her father's power. They then heard a loud shriek carry across the wind and it chilled them to the bone.

"The riders are up there!" Pippin cried in fear, shaking in his bedroll.

Ojisan looked ahead, his jaw was tight and his arms were crossed over his chest. Dawn was still fast asleep and it made Tinnu worry more. What if they were suddenly attacked? What should they do? It was clear things were not safe for them.

"What do we do now Strider?" Frodo asked, his voice tight with fear. "The riders are up there!"

"Yes they are, as is Gandalf, I recognize his mastery of fire….though I wonder how he and Dû met up?" Ojisan added softly with a frown marring his face. Tinnu still wasn't sure who this Gandalf person was, but from what she gleaned from the murmured conversations, he was an old and powerful man.

"We cannot move, we will easily be spotted by the enemy if we leave now, we have no way of knowing when they might leave the battle and they have quite the vantage point from up there."

"Tousan will have noticed the seals we put up…" Minuial whispered as she watched flames flicker across the night sky, leaping upwards in great flames. Aragorn stiffened at this and turned to look at Tinnu and her sister.

"Does this mean the enemy could too?"

Tinnu looked down and bit her lip, "I-I don't know…"

"Tousan can only see it because of our eyes…" Minuial stated at the same time and Aragorn sighed.

"We will rest here until mid-morning and then bypass Weathertop completely. I want you all to be ready to leave and I want you to travel as quickly as you can. Once we are out of the open we will have a better chance at survival."

They all nodded and Tinnu wrapped her arms around her knees as she stared up at the monolithic hill. Please be alright, Tousan, she prayed to whatever deity might listen. She knew Minuial was wishing for the same thing as she clasped Tinnu's hand tightly.

"Tousan," they whispered together.

…

Sasuke moved his hand slightly; he had succeeded in opening some of the tenketsu points. He would have to be on the defensive and with his non-dominant hand. He had been trained to use both hands ambidextrously but his main hand had a certain finesse he had yet to acquire with the non-dominant one.

Unsheathing _Kusanagi_, Sasuke moved from his temporary shelter and put his back against the old man who was holding his own quite well. The Nazgûl came at them with a desperateness which made their careless swipes at them easy to defend and knock away. Perhaps they were afraid; perhaps they did feel the need to take Sasuke and the old man out before they caused trouble for their master. But they were almost_ too _desperate.

Sasuke resisted the urge to cut into these creatures lest they destroy his only other weapon. "They have to have a weakness," he hissed in frustration.

"Half of Middle Earth would love to know it," Gandalf replied gruffly before he began speaking aloud in a commanding tone but also in a very strange language. The Nazgûl reared back slightly, almost as if they were afraid. The apparent leader of the Nazgûl, however, stepped forward, unafraid it seemed. It shrieked at them even as Gandalf continued to speak in his commanding voice.

Sasuke could feel the power in the man's words, almost like the man could radiate out chakra via his speech. Sasuke shuddered slightly, but snapped his attention back to the creatures. He regarded them closely and tried to see if there was anything, even just a pinprick of chakra or energy. Anything that might imply where their power came from…anything he might cut out from them.

And then they were fleeing. Sasuke stared at them in disbelief but Gandalf sagged down upon his staff and breathed heavily. "What the hell did you do?"

"I am afraid I did not drive them away, their master called them I imagine… Perhaps Sauron heard the incantation I was beginning; perhaps he knows the ring is not with us. I do not know."

The old man breathed heavily before he rose to his feet tiredly and turned to face Sasuke. "Let me see your hand," he ordered with worry etched on his face.

Sasuke presented his damaged arm. He really wished the dobe would return with medical scrolls for advance procedures such as the one's he needed at the moment. Sasuke supposed he could wait for the tenketsu points to open gradually, but with the extensive damage dealt to the points it would take months.

"I am not much of a healer but I know a little of the healing arts."

"We don't have time, we need to scatter them, we have to keep them from my family," Sasuke pulled his numb arm out of the elderly man's grasp and glared at him. Why the hell offer to heal his arm if the man knew so little about healing?

The old man sighed, "And how do you propose we do that?"

Sasuke glared down at his useless hand. He couldn't even form a clone now. Gritting his teeth he offered up his hand to the man once more, "When I put my arm through it, the tenketsu points were shut."

"Tenketsu?" the old man stumbled over the term.

"The points through which energy flows, if they are closed I cannot manipulate energy in that area and it paralyzes the area as well…" Sasuke shut his eyes and deactivated his sharingan. "The nerves have also been damaged slightly."

"Nerves?"

Sasuke felt his eye twitch slightly, "Yes, the things that tell your brain you're in pain and aid in sending signals from it to your body and muscles." Damn their rudimentary medical knowledge. What Sasuke wouldn't give to be Kabuto or a jinchuuriki who had enhanced healing—hell, he could deal with having Karin around again, if just for her healing abilities!

"Hm…I will do my best, though I am no Elf," Sasuke rolled his eyes and glared out at the still retreating black figures, at this rate they would all be scattered and long gone before they had a chance to catch them.

Sasuke looked over towards the shimmering area his daughters were at. He wanted to go over there but he would be endangering them even more. The Nazgûl were watching them even now as they fled.

"Before we leave," Sasuke began. "I'm leaving a message for my girls."

"That is not wise, the enemy—"

"Knows Japanese? I think not," Sasuke replied shortly and glared at the old man again. He looked bewildered at the "strange" name for a language and Sasuke shook his head.

"What will you tell them?"

"Why don't you just heal my arm already?"

* * *

_**A Suivre**_

* * *

_**Something Extra:**_

There was a mechanical beeping sound, as well as a dripping sound. The beeping was almost foreign, but slowly Naruto remembered what hospitals in the Elemental Lands sounded like. That almost seemed like another life to her. She smiled faintly and slowly opened her eyes, however she hissed in pain and closed her eyes. The light was blinding!

Grimacing in pain, Naruto tried once more to open them. Blinking away tears, Naruto looked up at the white ceiling made of what looked like drywall. Drywall, not wood planks and rafters, but drywall! She really did it, she really came back to Konoha, and there, in the middle of the ceiling was light fixture, not a lantern hanging off a hook, but a real electrical light!

Its light was much harsher than she was used to. Fire light flickered and was softer, warmer; not hard and cold like this electrical light. Naruto blinked away tears from the brightness; hell, the electrical light was even causing a slight headache.

Naruto turned her head to the side, consequently looking out a window—a window with clear glass panes, not warped and bubbled glass that was crudely made, no, this was manufactured glass, crystalline clear. And there it was, Konoha! Her breath caught in her throat and she felt tears build up at the corners of her eyes. She was home and yet she wasn't. The girls should be with her, the teme should be with her!

But it was so beautiful! The sun was almost finished setting and a purple like hue was cast over the village. The girls should see this, see where they came from, but they couldn't, they should never see this place. They were Uchiha, they had those terrible eyes and they could very well have the Rennigan as well—after all, the Senju and the Uchiha clan had merged once more. Naruto shut her eyes heavily. She wanted them here, she wanted her baby too – but no…no it was dead, had been dead.

She choked on a sob. Gods it was dead, for two whole weeks! Where was the teme, where were her girls!? She needed them. She needed her baby, but it was dead! Gods damn it all, it was dead!

Naruto kept sobbing; her whole frame shook with each ragged gasp of air between pitiful cries. She brought one skeletal hand to her mouth—absently; she thought it was too big and broad to be her hand.

It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair damn it! She lost the last two, she lost both of them! Gods she wanted the teme, she wanted her girls, why had she left them!

She was so lost in her own thoughts, in her losses, that she did not notice the blonde woman sleeping in a guest chair snap awake at the first sob. _"Naruto!"_ the woman called and watched in horror as the savior of their world cried hysterically, completely oblivious to the world.

The woman grabbed hold of Naruto's shoulders and forced the younger blonde back onto the bed. _ "Naruto! Naruto!"_

Naruto looked up through her tears at a very familiar face. _"Ts-Tsunade-baachan?" _the blonde woman nodded and Naruto broke down again, _"Baachan, it was dead! Dead! For two weeks! It was mocking me!" _Naruto managed to scream out as she cried harder and cradled her stomach, _"Baachan, it was so still, so still!"_

If Naruto had been focusing on anything but the loss of her baby, she would have noticed Tsunade's expression become stony, if not a little confused. She would have noticed someone else had entered the room wearing the hat of the Hokage and the white and red robes. She would have seen the confusion in the newcomer's lone grey eye while the other eye spun lazily in a hypnotic fashion. But she didn't, she only cried at losing the baby, and finally having someone who might understand her pain.

Naruto felt Tsunade pull her into a hug. She wrapped her boney arms around her surrogate grandmother's neck and held on tightly as she cried. Tsunade just held onto her and rocked back and forth with her until Naruto exhausted herself, as she faded away from consciousness, Tsunade set her back down onto the bed with an unreadable expression on her face.

With Naruto unconscious once more, the blonde medic stood up then and turned to the Hokage who was already asking her questions, _"What was he going on about, and why was he using female first person forms?" _

Tsunade sighed tiredly and rubbed at her temples, _"I need a drink Hatake,"_ the man looked at her sharply and Tsunade sighed back ached from arthritis and she had been having growing chest pains, which was why she had passed on the hat. She was getting old, no matter how good she took care of her own body-if one excluded her alcohol addiction. And she certainly felt too old to go through this with her successor.

_"Remember how I did a blood test to make sure this was our Naruto?" _Kakashi nodded firmly in response to her question, _"Well, the genetics matched up but the hormones were all over the place. It showed signs of severe long-term depression and hormones similar to a woman who had a stillbirth not too long ago."_

"_And what he was talking about was…?" _Kakashi began before trailing off as he pushed his headband back over his transplant eye. _"How could he have a stillbirth?"_

Tsunade frowned along with him, _"Hatake, his hormones suggest that,"_ she faltered but began again. _"They suggest that he's a woman, or at least has been for years. He has almost nonexistent levels of testosterone, but they have been building back up over the last few days. It also appears he's been depressed for years and if what his hormones are suggesting is true, losing this supposed baby was the tipping point. _

"_The state Naruto is in right now is likely self-induced. I'd imagine he hasn't been eating for weeks and before that only eating enough for the…the baby."_ She grimaced, it seemed impossible that Naruto, the brash little boy that convinced her to become Hokage, had been a woman, possibly even a mother. It didn't match up at all with the Naruto she knew.

They all believed he had died when he and Sasuke faced off and disappeared into that kamui. Kakashi tried following them but it failed, he couldn't find them at all. It had devastated them all, their savior was gone, their shining light of hope had been sucked up by a sharingan technique again, but this time there was little hope he would return. Kakashi took up the mantle of Hokage after seven years of searching for them, and now Konohamaru was being trained for the position.

Tsunade moved toward the window and frowned. Kakashi had moved over to Naruto's bed and brushed back his hair. _"Do you think it was the first time Naruto had been pregnant?"_

"_No…"_ They both knew the implication.

"_Is it too much to assume he did this to Naruto?"_ Tsunade knew who this he Kakashi was referring to was—the venom in Kakashi's voice said all she needed to know.

"_If he didn't do it, then he helped Naruto through labor, otherwise Naruto wouldn't be a Jinchuuriki or even here."_ Tsunade turned away from the window to see Kakashi seated next to Naruto and holding one of his skeletal hands_. "Hokage-sama," _she addressed the man almost sarcastically, _"Shouldn't you be doing paperwork."_

"_It can wait until he wakes up again and I'll have a clone deal with meetings."_

"_Hatake," _she deadpanned but he just looked back up at her with a cold look. She huffed, _"Fine, be childish, Brat." _ She was halfway to the door before she stopped and they both began to laugh weakly. Kakashi was a brat and he knew it, sometimes it was a relief for both of them to be reminded of that.

"_I stand by my previous decision. We wait to hear his story before we let anyone know he's back or declare him traitor." _

Tsunade looked at the man sitting beside her favorite blonde. He looked much older than he was, and she too felt much older than she looked. She imagined her liver would give out soon, but before that happened she'd get Naruto back on his feet.

"_Very well, Hokage-sama. I will continue his current treatment and assess his mental health when he wakes up and begin treatment for that as well."_ She bowed. Her tone was serious. She never would have thought that she'd stay in the village after passing the hat off to Kakashi, but when…when Sakura broke down, she found she could not abandon the hospital or the village.

Tsunade left the room and shut the door firmly behind her. She leaned against it and closed her eyes tightly as she thought about Team 7. Kakashi seemed to be the only healthy member left, the only functioning member left, as far as she knew. Yes he took his team's collapse as a personal failure but he used it as motivation to become the best Hokage he could.

Sakura took her teammates' "deaths" the hardest. She had a complete mental break down ten years ago. Since then, for the safety of those around her and her own safety, she was moved into civilian quarters and became a civilian doctor. She no longer interacted with ninja, but it was for all of their safety. She was happily married to a baker and had a son, and she pretended she had never been a ninja. It was for all the best, they had all decided.

Naruto had touched so many people's lives, and they all mourned his loss. Perhaps the most surprising reaction had been Sai and Hinata…She chuckled even as tears gathered in her eyes. Who would have thought Sai would become a Kakashi, and Hinata one of the fiercest advocates for Naruto's peace? Who would have thought?

"_Tsundae-hime!"_ she looked over to Sai who came jogging up with a bright smile on his face, Naruto's smile on his face. She wiped at her remaining tears and greeted the former Root operative. _"Why are you crying Tsunade-hime? Is old age finally catching up and you are lost in memories?"_

She glared at the man with a smile on her face, _"Shut up Brat, don't you have children to pick up?"_

Sai laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, _"Neji is graduating from the academy today, and I was going to pick up Sakura from Shina so we could congratulate him," _Sai continued to smile brightly before he began to move toward the section his eldest daughter worked in. Shina would watch her sister when both Sai and Hinata were on missions.

"_Sai, you still have some blood on you from your mission,"_ she stated drily and the man faltered in his step before bowing.

"_Thank you Tsunade-hime,"_ he then started toward the bathroom. She smiled sadly. He might act like Naruto now, but he continued to do assassinations, while Hinata did what Naruto would do. Sometimes she wondered if they were really happy, and it only made her agree with Kakashi. Perhaps it would be best to keep Naruto hidden for now, lest it ruin the precarious lives built in his absence.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Firstly, my OTP involves Naruto, so I have no attachment to the pairings suggested above, and if you don't like them sorry but lets be realistic. All the clan kids would have to marry a non-blondline persons so that the bloodlines wouldn't be corrupted-that was the main argument Hiashi would have had against Naruto. So... keeping that in mind it does limit who marries who, and some marriages may just be purely political. I'm not advocating one pairing over another, so please don't shut this story down because of it. I'm making my best guess, cynical though it may be, on what would happen should Sasuke and Naruto have vanished after the war.

Also, I know I said this chapter would end at Rivendell, but at this point I am only half way through the outline I had and the chapter was already as long as the previous one. The next chapter may be shorter but it will most certainly end at Rivendell. Also, as I'm sure you've all guessed, I am an introspective writer, so my action scenes have much to be desired. If you have pointers or no any good stories I should look at for action sequences, I'd appreciate it (To be truthful, I usually skim over actions scenes 'cause they're boring to me, but that is a large part of this story). Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter ~ with love, depressedchildren


	3. Chapter 3: A Knife in the Dark

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Lord of the Rings or Naruto; both works belong to their respective creators and publishers. I gain nothing but writing and editing experiences from this fanfic.

_**Full Summary: **_Sasuke never expected to have the children he had dreamed of as a genin, nor would he have expected the peace he felt, with _her _of all people. But there they were; the happy, "perfect" family. Yet all good things must come to an end. Hardship after hardship befell them, and the family he built in Middle Earth was breaking apart. At his wit's end, Sasuke has no choice but to be sucked into the struggles of the free peoples against the Power in the East. The sun has set, and night has taken over indefinitely. _**Warnings: **_OC's, character death (not a likable character), gender-bending.

**Warnings for this chapter:** character death, f-bombs courtesy of Sasuke

**A/N:** So my outline went to shit as soon as I started writing this chapter. *sigh* It worked for the last chapter but it was basically burned to ash and was trampled on by a herd of "oliphants" about a fourth the way through. Also, I should have looked at the maps in the books better, because Fangorn is tiny in comparison to Mirkwood, so really like at least ten elemental lands fit into Middle Earth. Whoops! Well, I can pretend Sasuke only saw the north eastern maps.

Also, Sasuke is too broken! I am trying so hard to make this work, but Sasuke's ruining all my plans by how broken he is. So please just use your suspension of disbelief! I beg you readers, please! You will also see much overlap with the other sequel, and there are sections that I have taken from Tolkien so credit goes to where it is due. Anyways, hope you enjoy and thank you to those that have reviewed, and put this on alert or favorite ~ with love, depressedchildren.

* * *

_Chapitre trois_

* * *

_**3017 October 4**_

The sun was finally rising, and in the faint light Sasuke continued racing after the four cloaked figures ahead of him. Though the Nazgûl had little to fear of him, he could still divert them off course and away from the company. It also seemed that losing their cloaks did leave them at a disadvantage; they were less mobile without something containing their shape and they could not fight. It also seemed that they dissipated into the air—perhaps they had to go somewhere to regenerate and pull back together their form. Sasuke hoped that was the case, for he had not seen the Nazgûl he had uncloaked on Weathertop since it vanished the night before. He was not so naïve to think he had killed it, and the old man agreed with him. Speaking of the old man, he was supposed to be chasing after the other four riders and they would meet at noon on the Old Road.

The Nazgûl had learned quickly to avoid the black flames which shot out from his eyes. For most of the night he had used his dojutsu to bring the scattered four riders into a cluster. From there he had unhorsed one of the wraiths with the flames of Amateratsu. He had to extinguish his misses before he burned down whole fields, but thankfully he had mastered this technique over a decades ago, just as he had Susanoo.

He glared down at his bandaged arm before glaring back up at the ones he was pursuing.

Sasuke still couldn't use his arm, but whatever the old man had done with his strange mutterings and herbs had opened a few more tenketsu. The recovery would take a long time, and until the dobe returned—if she ever returned—with those medical scrolls, it would seem his fine motor skills would be reduced. In fact, it was unlikely he would be able to circulate chakra into his arm for at least a year, and even then he may never be able to use it again due to the nerve damage; if the dobe returned with medical scrolls that might change.

Thankfully Middle Earth held no fast opponents or Sasuke might have been much more worried. The average foe Sasuke would face moved at, at most, half his speed. So though he might not be able to use kawirimi form no on, he could still avoid opponents, purely from his speed. Besides, he could do mass damage with his eye techniques still.

Sasuke pushed more chakra into his legs and feet, so that to the untrained eye he blurred out of existence to appear ahead of the Nazgûl. He smirked when he saw them rear their horses back but one was too late. The horse was engulfed in black flames while its rider hopped onto the horse with the only other single rider in their group. The other horses had been successfully maneuvered to turn away from him.

He had to drive them away, he had to. Gandalf was distracting the other four, but it was too late now to worry if this was the right choice; the old man had proved himself to be formidable with his fire and speech-powers. Sasuke would just have to take a leaf out of the dobe's book: he had to put faith in the old man to hold up his end.

… … He gritted his teeth, and shook his head. How the fuck did she always do that!?

…

No one slept the night before—well, besides Dawn, but she had used so much chakra the other day. Minuial looked off to the horizon anxiously. The sun had already risen but they had yet to move out. What if the Nazgûl were out there waiting for them?

The hobbits kept shooting concerned looks up at the sky, as if they anticipated something swooping down upon them or spying on them from above. She felt just as antsy as them, and her nerves were making her ready to jump at any sudden noise. Dawn was still nodding off every now and then, and Minuial wished she could be her for a moment and be able to sleep.

Minuial looked over at her twin and saw her own anxiety and fear mirrored back. They held each other's gaze for a moment longer before Minuial shot off the ground. She couldn't wait here; she couldn't just sit and hope her father was alive.

"I'm going to scout ahead!" she announced, though she dared not speak above a whisper. Ojisan shot her a look that was a strange mixture of worry, resignation, fear, and pain. Perhaps he had known she'd ask this and it struck him like a hammer upon an anvil—he knew it was coming but he had hoped it would not, and when it had, it was a heavy blow. Perhaps Ojisan worried the riders would be waiting just outside of the alder clearing, and once someone left they would fall upon the poor soul?

"_Please Ojisan, I need to know Tousan is safe,"_ she pleaded and saw her sister agreeing with her, her eyes were just as hopeful as Minuial's own.

Ojisan had tensed at the mention of Tousan, and she could see his Adam's apple bob for one moment as he swallowed. He feared for his friend just as they. _"Please Ojisan,"_ Tinnu spoke up and he sighed as he turned away.

"_I will not be able to forgive myself should something happen to you two, but neither can I leave your sister and the hobbits unguarded."_ He breathed deeply in what was likely thought. With a heavy sigh he straightened and looked a decade older, "We break camp in an hour and make for the Northern path to Weathertop," he announced in a gruff voice that spoke of the difficulty it took to come to that decision.

"Once we are within clear sight of Weathertop, you two may scout ahead and search for any…signs," a chill passed over Minuial at her uncle's words. A sign…remains…anything that spoke of her father being there, or having died there. She tried to swallow but found her throat dry. She looked over at her twin anxiously.

Aragorn saw the exchange and wished it wasn't so, but his friend—though powerful—had faced Nazgûl. They were immortal for all he knew and…and his friend. He shouldn't think such things, but he still feared. His friend may have proven himself a formidable swordsman and the lightning creature was a testament to his power but…Aragorn shuddered. The wraiths could not be beaten. Even by Gandalf they could not be destroyed! What hope was there for his mortal friend, his human friend when an Istar had no hope of defeating them?

The broke camp and Aragorn offered to carry the drowsy Dawn but the twins fought him, and eventually won by reminding him of their speed. Dawn was still exhausted but her strength was slowly returning.

As they traveled the hills drew nearer. They made an undulating ridge, often rising almost to a thousand feet, and here and there falling again to low clefts or passes leading into the eastern land beyond. Aragorn wondered if perhaps he should turn them away from Weathertop, but one look at the drawn expressions on his nieces' faces dissuaded him. He knew each crest and ridge, along which the remains of green-grown walls and dikes stood as the ruins of old works of stone. This path he knew, this path would keep them from prying eyes until they came too close to Weathertop; then nothing could shield them.

By mid-day they reached the feet of the westward slopes, where Dawn regained enough of her strength to travel beside her sisters—much to their protests. Shortly after Dawn was back on her feet, they found a track plain to see; a track now used often by rangers. They turned right and followed it southwards.

Aragorn favored this path above the rest when it came to approaching Weathertop discreetly, for it ran cunningly; taking a line that seemed chosen so as to keep as much hidden as possible from the view, both of the hill-tops above and to the flats to the west. It dived into dells, and the ground on either side of it had lines of large boulders and hewn stones that screened the travelers almost like a hedge.

"I wonder who made this path, and what for," Merry murmured in wonder as they walked along one of these avenues, where the stones were unusually large and close set. "I am not sure that I like it: it has a—well, rather barrow-wightish look. Is there any barrow on Weathertop?" Merry asked in an almost shaking voice as his eyes darted up toward the encroaching hills.

His nieces also looked intrigued as they looked about them. He had shown them maps time and again of this land, and all of the maps had included this track, but it seemed seeing it in person was shocking. He had noticed the awe and wanderlust in their eyes at each new setting, but his fear for their lives made their wonder seem selfish and childish. How could they enjoy the travel when they were risking their very lives!?

"No." Aragorn began as he attempted to shake away those thoughts by casting his gaze about. As they had made their way, he occasionally saw slight trails of smoke rising in the east in different spots, as if some intense fire had burned briefly in that direction; usually it was past Weathertop but it made him nervous nonetheless.

"There is no barrow on Weathertop, nor on any of these hills," he paused again, and briefly wondered what horrors the hobbits must have faced to be so afraid of barrows. He could make a vague guess given the legends circling around the Barrow Downs, but he could not say for sure. The hobbits had clearly had a rough time since the Shire; after all, he had seen the fear in their eyes when he spotted them in the _Prancing Pony_. Perhaps he could take their minds away from their pressing fears through a little history?

"The Men of the West did not live here; though in their latter days they defended the hills for a while against the evil that came out of Angmar. This path was made to serve the forts along the walls. But long before, in the first days of the North Kingdom, they built a great watch-tower on Weathertop, Amon Sûl they called it. It was burned and broken, and nothing remains of it now but a tumbled ring, like a rough crown on the old hill's head. Yet once it was tall and fair. It is told that Elendil stood there watching for the coming of Gil-galad out of the West, in the days of the Last Alliance."

The hobbits stared at him in wonder, and his nieces looked at him as they often did when he lectured on past events; however their awe was still present, especially for his descriptions. Since Sasuke and his wife knew so little of this world, Aragorn had been the girls' educator in a sense. Though, with his frequent absences he had done a poor job, and wished now that he had taught them more deeply—perhaps then they would not have followed him? Even now, though, he dared not talk of what exactly the Nazgûl were.

"Who was Gil-galad?" Merry questioned softly, perhaps he was shocked that someone as rough looking as Aragorn was so well versed in old lore. He refrained from chuckling at their assumptions, but he did not answer. Instead, Sam began to sing in a low murmur, as if too afraid to raise his voice:

"Gil-galad was an Elven-king.

Of him the harpers sadly sing:

the last whose realm was fair and free

between the Mountains and the Sea.

.

His sword was long, his lance was keen,

his shining helm afar was seen;

the countless stars of heaven's field

were mirrored in his silver shield.

.

But long ago he rode away,

and where he dwelleth none can say;

for into darkness fell his star

in Mordor where the shadows are."

The young hobbit trailed off at the mention of Mordor, so much so that the final words in the stanza were barely a whisper on the wind. He was shaking now, and all the hobbits looked down at the ground in slight fear.

Aragorn looked at the stout hobbit appraisingly and wondered where the young hobbit had learned that lay. He seemed to have had some schooling but not a terribly good deal of it, so his rendition caught Aragorn off guard.

"That's the Fall of Gil-galad, or a part of it, isn't it?" Tinnu asked softly, while Minuial began to mouth the lyrics she knew. "You taught us it in sindarin."

"Yes I did, someone must have translated it. I imagine Bilbo did," Aragorn smiled softly at the thought of his elderly friend.

"There was a lot more," Sam whispered with his face flushed slightly from the attention, "all about Mordor. I didn't learn that part, it gave me the shivers. I never thought I should be going that way my-myself," he swallowed thickly and looked around him again in anxiety.

"Going to Mordor!" Piping exclaimed in a frightened whisper, "I hope it won't come to that!" the youngest hobbit pleaded slightly, "I can only hope we make it past those riders!"

Aragorn turned on them; the hair at the back of his neck was standing on end, "Enough talk of that place!" he hissed at them before turning to look around him once more. Dread was closing its cold hand around his stomach and he wanted to turn them all away from Weathertop, but for the girls he could not. If there was some evidence of their father's survival or…passing…they had to know.

He tried to shake away the feeling he had gained from the hobbits' murmurs of Mordor, but it was growing on him as they continued toward Weathertop. The sun was now high in the sky, and soon they would have to make camp, but they were far too exposed. He wished for Dawn's illusion's protection, but he dared not ask for it lest she overexert herself. Before they had been in more open land and now they at least were screened by the ancient passage, but soon they would have no protection from eyes on Weathertop.

They continued their travel and soon made it to the southern end of the path and their screen. Again, he wished to send his nieces out to scout, but he feared too much for their safety to ask it of them. He saw the twins look toward him with expectant gazes, as if wondering when he would issue the order for them to scout. Concealment was no longer possible but they could hope no spies or enemies were observing them.

"We will make for the north facing hill. From there we will move westward where a dell flanks Weathertop. It is a sheltered hallow which should provide grass for the ponies." He had camped there once before, and it had been a kind of refuge that offered a slight bit of protection, though it was still well in view.

Soon after his announcement they arrived at the dell, but as Aragorn looked about he felt as if his hair was standing on end. They should leave, this didn't feel safe. In fact, as he looked about the dell he found heavy boot prints, and there were many of them. However, he was pulled from his survey by his anxious nieces.

"We're going to look for-for signs," Minuial blurted out though her words faltered toward the end. Aragorn was not even given a moment to speak for Minuial had grabbed her twin's hand and raced off toward the towering hill on their right. Dawn looked torn for a moment but quickly ran after her sisters. She had been informed, Aragorn imagined, sometime during the day's travel as the sisters talked in their mélange of tongues.

"I will walk the perimeter," Aragorn began slowly as he began to climb out of the dell, "Keep your wits about you and your guard up," he murmured, still unsettled by the feeling in the air and the footprints he had seen. Perhaps they would pause here for a short moment before continuing on, even though dusk was approaching, he did not feel safe to stay in the shadow of Weathertop. He had a feeling it was not rangers that had last camped in this dell.

As Ojisan climbed out of the dell, Dawn caught up with her sisters easily, though she did feel the familiar ache in her muscles caused by her recovering reserves. She had regained most of the charka she had expended the day before, but she was not at all like her parents. She knew she had higher than average reserves, which was practically a given with her parents, but she had held up an illusion for hours. Her body had even ached at mid-day from all the chakra she had expended.

Her sisters gave her worried looks but they continued on their hurried run. They moved like burls across to the hill, which was mostly cast in shadow now. They ran up the sides and ended up at the top of the monolithic hill, but other than the area appearing burned, there was no sign of anyone having been there. They began to make their way more slowly down the hill, their eyes focused for signs of their father instead of the black specks moving toward the dell.

It was on her way down that Dawn felt a shift in the hill beneath her feet. It was uneven and oddly so. She jumped off of the hill and stood to face the wall she had been at and activated her sharingan. In the shadows she saw—burned onto the face of the giant earthen structure—Japanese characters the size of a full grown man. The angle of the sun had hidden it from view, all day that they had been in sight of the hill and even now it shielded the letters from view. Perhaps if they had left earlier in the morning they would have seen it, but the autumn sun moved quickly across the sky.

Dawn felt a smile tug on her lips for the first time in what felt like ages. Her fear for Tousan was suffocating, and she knew her sisters felt the same, but here was all the proof she needed to know he was alive. Tousan may be the more subtle parent of the two, but when he was angry he often threw caution to the wayside, and he was clearly angry.

_Used karin—still alive. You're all grounded indefinitely._

The lack of sentence structure suggested he was hurried but it also suggested how worried and angry he was. Words likely were escaping him and he wrote what best he could to get across some of what he wanted to say. This also explained her father's poorly planned location for the sign.

She read what Tousan had written to her sisters and they looked visibly relieved.

"_Guess that means Haldarad won't be visiting for a while," _Minuial joked slightly.

"_And no fuinjutsu or pranks for you two," _Dawn replied with an almost playful but mostly vindictive smile. She had felt her face flush slightly from the Haldarad comment but she had known it was coming.

The twins groaned in unison but an inhuman shriek tore across the air and froze them in their places. They all stared at each other in horror for one long moment as the same thought crossed all of their minds. That shriek came from the camp and was a black rider's cry. When the three answering cries rose up into the air, Dawn was racing back to the camp along with her sisters. The hobbits were in danger and so too was her uncle.

…

It had been a game of cat and mouse until mid-day. He had unhorsed all of the riders and had left them trapped in a ring of Amateratsu; it would be their uncloaking to try to escape the fire, though Sasuke could feel the drain from keeping the technique contained and going. Since perhaps midnight he had been using his Eton techniques, and by noon it was taking its toll.

When he met Gandalf on the road—and it was easy to find the lone dot on the horizon— the Istar regard him with a grim expression and Sasuke knew immediately what was to come. He had not! This was why Sasuke didn't put his faith in others, they ultimately failed him!

"You lost them, didn't you," he didn't even try to phrase it as a question as he regarded the old man with contempt.

The old man, for his part, remained upright and with his shoulders back. He met Sasuke's glare and nodded slowly, "For most of the night I had kept them in a group but then they scattered. At least they ran off and away from Weathertop."

If his eyes weren't already burning from all of the chakra he had been pumping into them that day, he might have considered putting the old man through Tsukiyomi. Instead, he breathed out slowly as he closed his eyes for what felt like the first time all day. He wondered how long it would take to pop a blood vessel, though thankfully he no longer had to worry about blindness…

Shaking his head, Sasuke ran his moveable hand through his hair. With one arm useless he couldn't create clones to chase after these unaccounted for Nazgûl. In addition, if he was gone much longer from his ring of fire, it was likely the flames would cease to burn since they had eaten up all of the grass and likely a good portion of the ground. He had made sure the technique was highly concentrated and would not burn anything that did not cross its path, and he flames would not leave the ring he had created; however chakra and proximity was needed to sustain the technique. He was quite proud of his level of mastery over the technique, but he was truly beginning to feel the drain.

"There is little we can do to chase them again, and I have begun to wonder if it might be best to lead them away versus drive them away. Perhaps if we begin making for Rivendell as if we know they are headed there, the Nazgûl will chase after us?"

"That is a lot to be putting on chance, old man," though Sasuke wondered what else they could do. At least his four were unhorsed and a fair distance from Weathertop. Whether that was the case for Gandalf—a fair distance from Weathtertop, that is—was another story.

"I believe this might divert more of their attention away from the _giant_ letters you burned onto Weathertop," so the old man was going to bring that back up? He just stared back with his most neutral expression.

Sasuke had _said_ he was going to leave a message for his daughters and the old man had _agreed _to it. Besides, he had made the characters large enough that anyone a good distance away could see it in the early morning light—for he assumed the Nazgûl would still be being chased away and thus not be able to see, if they could see to begin with—and later in the day it would be shadowed, so that should they—meaning, Gandalf—lost their Nazgûl, they would not be able to see the message. Even then, if the Nazgûl happened to see the letters, they could assume he was warning people away from this hill or perhaps he was making a declaration of some kind. It was true it drew attention to the hill, but he had faith that his daughters would move out early enough to see the letters before they were shadowed or right next to the hill.

"Done?"

The old man pressed his lips into a thin line at Sasuke's comment, clearly not amused, but then he sighed. "There is no use in squabbling over this. We will make a wide pass back around to the west, as if we are looking for something. Then, we will make straight eastwards towards Rivendell with great haste. Perhaps we may deceive the enemy into believing we have learned something new."

Sasuke stared at the old man for a moment before glancing down at his arm in frustration once more. If he could just make clones or any jutsu—excluding his dojutsu—for that matter, there would be no need to discuss this and his daughters would be safe! He was positive his ring of flames had died out by now, and so with a sigh he nodded slowly.

Gandalf nodded in return, his expression was grim again. He turned toward Shadowfax which was panting, and prepared to mount when Sasuke grabbed his sleeve.

"I will say this once more," he began in a low, threatening whisper, "should anything happen to my girls, I will put your through hell."

The old man met his gaze head on, "And what if it is their actions alone which harms them?"

"I'll still take it out on you or whoever convinced them to commit such folly."

The old man held his stare for one more moment before closing his eyes heavily and sighing, "You are a worried father and still young, even foolish," Gandalf began. When he opened his eyes they were hard, and his smile was almost bitterly sad.

Sasuke gripped tighter to the old man's sleeve as his eyes began to bleed red again despite the burning in them. He would not be called foolish! Yes he was a father, and he was worried, but that did not make him foolish! His was thirty-four damn it! He was not young, he was not some teenager to be treated indulgently!

"But in these dark times, Dû," the old man continued, "you must be prepared for the worst and face it like man. You must bear the weight and grief on your own. You cannot take the pain out on others like a wounded adolescent," the old man finished as he tugged his arm out of Sasuke's slackened hold. He then fluidly mounted the white-gray horse and turned the creature around.

Sasuke's hand dropped to his side with his jaw clenched tightly as he began to grind his teeth slightly in anger. He was not a teenager, and he was not a coward. He would face whatever came like a man! This old bastard did not know him, and had no right saying what he had, yet… Sasuke closed his eyes tightly as he turned back toward the west; the old man had a point. He had to brace himself for the worst, for what would it do to take his grief out on those around him? Sure it might feel wonderfully good for a short time, but would it bring his daughters back? Would it bring the dobe back? Would it do any good at all? No. No it wouldn't.

If his daughters died they died, and no matter how much he raged or took it out on what was around him, it would not change that fact. And Gandalf was right, he had to prepare himself to face that possibility.

…

When they reached the lip of the bowl shaped dell, Minuial saw two fierce, black horses waiting for their masters to return, or perhaps they were just as affected by their masters as Minuial felt. The air seemed heavy and oppressive, and as she began to make her way down into the dell she had the strongest desire not to move any closer. But the hobbits were down there and so too was her uncle. She couldn't back down now because of a suffocating, palpable fear hanging in the air.

The hobbits were circled around what appeared to be a hastily built fire. Each had their backs to the flames as they held a make-shift torch in one hand and a knife—that worked as a sword—in the other. Aragorn was already meeting one of the riders head on with his usable sword in one hand to block their attacks and a torch to make it jerk away from him. This survey was completed in less than a second, for she moved down into the dell on the next one. One of these riders was reaching for Merry, who had been so kind and understanding during those difficult times when they were all subjects of Ojisan's anger and disappointment.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tinnu racing toward a rider attacking Sam, and though she could no longer see her sister she imagined she had an arrow notched to let loose on the rider approaching Pippin. She briefly wondered why there were only four riders and two horses, but as soon as she came to the bottom of the dell, those thoughts were driven away by a crippling fear.

She was going to die. The fear was cold and heavy, it made her arms and legs feel like lead as she stopped between Merry and his attacker. She couldn't move, she couldn't…even as that sword came ever closer to slicing her in two.

"Miss Minuial!" Merry's cry snapped her out of whatever daze held her, and in a flash she withdrew her broad swords and raised them up in an 'x' just in time to catch the blade coming down at her.

She gritted her teeth and widened her stance to take the force of the attack. She was then able to push the rider's blade up higher as she got into range to kick it. She twisted her blades to the side in hope of disarming the creature, but it only made the creature pull its sword away. No matter, she followed her move with a twisting kick that she laced with chakra. The rider gave a surprised shriek as it was kicked to the side several yards.

She stood there panting with her eyes wide. Why couldn't she get enough air in her lungs?! Was it this horrible feeling in the air? It was then that she heard the dying cry of a horse and it sent shivers down her spine and into her feet, but it didn't come from one of the ponies—they were behind her and the noise came from ahead of her.

She quickly looked around as the rider she knocked off its feet was righting itself. Minuial saw her sister still at the top of the dell, but instead of aiming down into the dell, she was aiming across and at the horses…why? Why would she do that? But as she was looking behind her, Minuial saw that Pippin was left unprotected and the hobbit was shaking in his place. He wildly swung his torch at the creature, but something was odd about his movements…they were slowing down, more and more. Dawn's bow movements were still incredibly fast but they were more perceptible, and as Minuial looked over at her twin she saw Tinnu moving to block and then kick away the rider much slower than she should have been moving at. What was happening?

Her rider was still down but the rider before Pippin was about to strike down on the hobbit. Her eyes widened and she moved faster than she had ever moved before. She would push aside the crippling fear she felt, she would fight, she would protect, but most importantly, she would kill these creatures. She would kill this rider.

She caught the slow moving sword in with the edge of her left sword, and as the rider's blade slide along hers she threw her arm to the side to cause the sword to divert path and fall into the ground. She cast her gaze about her and saw an almost blinding source of energy behind her, but it was foul.

It came from Frodo's waistcoat pocket, but what was most alarming were the traces of chakra at the hobbit's brainstem. She noticed the hobbit drop his blade and torch as his similarly chakra coated hands reached down to the waistcoat pocket. What was he doing? Was he possessed? Perhaps he was….didn't genjutsu work by sending chakra into the target's brain?

"Minuial!" she heard Pippin call in fright. She turned around just in time to see the rider moving his sword to cut her in half.

"Duck!" she yelled as she moved into the riders guard and pivoted around it. In that brief moment she saw Ojisan move to protect Merry who had bravely raised his knife-sword up against the advancing rider. She also saw Frodo becoming coated in that corrupted energy.

But she had no time to think as she slammed her elbow against what should have been the creature's spine. She then ducked to avoid the creature's responding spin and swipe. She was within its guard now but with its arm crossed over its body, it would swipe either back the way it came or cross down at where she was crouched. She managed to flip backwards and out of the way of either attack.

She fixed the creature, which was moving strangely slow, with a hard gaze. She would not fear these things, she would kill them; she would!

She charged before the rider had a chance to reposition his hands or ready himself. She was in his guard within the blink of an eye with her arms crossed over her body so that her left-handed blade would swipe across the creature's neck as her right-handed blade swiped diagonally across the creature's torso.

Her momentum was the only reason she was able to follow through with her attack, for as soon as her blade came in contact with the rider's body, a cold seeped up through her broadswords into her hands, and then into the rest of her body. Her swords were beginning to shake as if meeting more resistance than they should when cutting into an enemy. In fact, she saw in slow motion her swords disintegrating, or perhaps bursting, into tiny pieces about mid-way through her attack, but even then the cold had reached all of her and it was choking her.

Her vision began to spot out and she screamed in an attempt to get air or heat back into her lungs. Everything felt so cold, so terribly cold! Darkness consumed her vision as she fell backwards onto the ground, but it wasn't the ground any more, it was just dark.

Before her in this pressing void was the rider, but he appeared as an ethereal old man with a very long beard. He was perhaps a lord before he became whatever he was, but this wraith was the only source of light in the void.

It staggered away from her before righting itself and raising its sword. Minuial scrambled to her feet, but it felt strange… Her limbs felt so cold and heavy, as if all the energy had been sapped from her. The creature was no longer moving slowly, in fact, it was moving as quickly as her, even faster than her!

She scrambled backward out of the way of its downward sweeping attack, and shakily she drew out her trench knives. It was just them in this great, endless darkness. If she did not kill this rider in here, then she would die; she knew it, and that thought alone was all that motivated her numb and heavy limbs into moving.

She jerked out of the way of another swipe and wondered why this rider was moving faster than she could! She hastily rolled to the side to avoid another downward strike. She jerked back to her feet and was now in the rider's guard. She pivoted around the ethereal creature and once at its back cut it with her closest knife. It bled, surprisingly, and Minuial was calmed by the realization this thing would die in this void.

She barely ducked the rider's responding attack, and she did her best to stay to its back, but being of almost equal speed, she was forced to withdraw from it. Her technique hinged on speed and being able to get into her opponent's guard. But this blackness, this void, it almost seemed to equalize them, yet she knew this creature was more powerful than her here.

She stared at it panting, unable to get enough air in her lungs. The longer she was in here, the more drained she became; as if the darkness around her sapped at her strength, her will. Minuial had to end this, and end this quickly or she would surely die.

The rider seemed to know what she was thinking for it smiled mockingly with rotted teeth showing. It set its sword to act as a spear to skewer her, but she had to move now, she had to end this! She raced toward the creature as it knew she would. Just before the creature was about to skewer her, she twisted to the side, which caused the blade to slice across her stomach, but she was able to pivot so that she was once more at its back.

She jumped and braced herself with her left arm on the wraith's shoulder. With her right hand she reversed her grip so that she could rake her knife across the creature's throat and thus sever its arteries.

As the creature fell to its knees, she was able to touch the ground again. She was trembling all over, as if that last attack had taken what remained of her strength and will. Her legs gave out under her and she fell backwards into the sea of darkness. She could hardly breathe. She panted heavily as she lay there with her stomach dribble blood from the thin, long cut. Minuial felt herself fade farther and farther away. Farther…and farther… …away.

…

The old man's plan had worked for the most part, but Sasuke braced himself for the worst when he saw two horses chasing after them with two riders on each. That meant four horsed riders were still out there, still chasing his daughters. He could vainly hope that the other Nazgûl were hiding in the shadows of the sloping hills, or searching farther away from Weathertop, but he would be a fool.

"Let me burn them," he hissed at the old man who was practically lying across Shadowfax's neck to stay on the creature as well as move as quickly as possible.

"You will catch fire to the fields!"

"I'll put it out, and it may uncloak the rest of them. That would mean four less pursuers."

"Only if you have a good chance of hitting all of them in one," Gandalf replied in a solemn tone.

Sasuke gritted his teeth at the response, it was a reasonable stipulation. If it appeared that they were back on the offensive, they might be driving those riders back toward his family.

It was nearing sundown, and the hills before them seemed to go on forever. He cast a glance behind him, he couldn't chance it; they were riding too far apart. There might already be four riders after his daughters now, if they could keep the attention of these riders it would lessen the danger for his children. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That was what he would have to do. Only when he had a guaranteed chance of hitting all of them with Amateratsu would he do it. He supposed if it came down to it he could always turn around in front of them, but what if there were hidden riders in the shadowed hills?

He closed his eyes tightly as he leaped across the ground in time with Shadowfax. _Please, please, let my daughters be safe._ He didn't know who he was pleading to, who he was begging this of; perhaps the spirit of Itachi, or the gods he had little faith in, but he continued to repeat those words in his mind.

…

Dawn saw it all happening in slow motion and each moment was burned into her mind. She had taken out their horses after she realized her arrows had little effect on the riders. With the horses gone they could then flee without the fear of pursuit. She saw Ojisan knock back the rider he was fighting before he was forced to protect Merry when Minuial had shifted her assault onto the rider attacking Pippin. She saw Tinnu holding her own but her fear was consuming, and Sam ended up throwing frying pans at the rider when Tinnu was frozen in her place at the creature's screams.

Dawn also saw the youngest of their family, if only by a few hours, unlock her bloodline, and the pride she felt lifted the fear suffocating her—but that was quickly replaced by horror when she saw her baby sister scream after attacking one of the creatures solidly. Minuial's newly unlocked sharingan faded away, and her eyes were wide open in horror as she fell backwards as if struck.

Minuial was so pale and Dawn could not see her chest rising or falling. Her bow and the fitted arrow fell from Dawn's hands. She was supposed to protect them and now…oh gods. Dawn shouldn't have let the twins persist, she shouldn't have caved in! This was all her fault! Oh gods, she killed her sister, she let this happen!

He legs gave out under her, she had promised Tousan so many years ago, after she accepted the fact Kaasan had abandoned them, that she would protect her sisters with all she had. She wouldn't let them be hurt! She failed, she let this happen.

She saw Tinnu had froze in shock or fear, but so too had Ojisan. The riders were going to take advantage of that. No! No! Dawn wouldn't let anyone else die because of her stupidity, because of her irresponsibleness!

The wind picked up suddenly around her. Two skeletal arms made of wind rushed at the riders advancing on her family and knocked them off their feet. She then noticed something was wrong with Frodo, he was screaming and that one rider… damn it, she failed again! The rider had its blade in a strangely chakra-coated Frodo. She screamed as one of the hands grabbed the creature and threw it as far as the wind arms could. Her sister, her baby sister was dead because of her, and Tinnu was so frozen in fear she would surely die soon if she didn't get the riders away.

Dawn wanted all the riders to go away, she had to and the wind—which sapped the chakra from her like a thirsty man gulped down water—responded to her wishes. Panting, the wind arms threw the two remaining riders away from them. The wind died down then and Dawn looked down into the dell.

The air was still for a long, heavy moment before she and Tinnu raced toward Minuial. Ojisan looked torn between Frodo and Minuial, and Dawn wanted to curse him for that but he ended up kneeling alongside Dawn and her sister. The hobbits were surrounding Frodo, and fretting over him, but Dawn only had eyes and ears for her dead sister.

Ojisan set a hand to Minuial's head, his face grim and aged. "She is cold as death," he breathed before searching out a pulse.

Tinnu looked as if the ground had opened up under her. She was lost, ungrounded. Dawn wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder, her only sister left…she felt the tears burning her eyes long before they began to fall. Tinnu held onto Dawn's dress front tightly as she pressed her face into Dawn's neck and began to sob.

"There is a pulse, but it is faint," Ojisan's expression belied his hopeful words, and Dawn felt her breath catch in her throat before it came out in a sob. She wasn't dead, yet. Oh gods!

"Strider!" cried Sam from over by Frodo, who was no longer coated in chakra. "Mister Frodo's been stabbed!" the hobbit's voice was almost shrill in his panic.

Ojisan moved over to the hobbits almost reluctantly, but Dawn took Minuial from his hands and set her head on her and Tinnu's lap. Dawn brushed absently at Minuial's hair, and when her fingers grazed her sister's forehead, she almost jerked her hand back in shock. Minuial's skin was cold to the touch.

Aragorn forced himself to remain composed. He had to be level headed and strong for them. The hobbits were ready to break when Frodo suddenly reappeared with a sword half in his chest, and his nieces were barely hanging in there, metaphorically and physically—in Minuial's case.

"Sam, I want you to begin steeping this plant in a pot," he held out a pouch of Athelas. There was no time to waste. He had seen the skeletal wind monster that had covered his eldest niece, and he had seen the wind creature literally throw the Nazgûl at least a league, but who knew when they would be back. He was glad Dawn had taken out their mounts, which would make it a simple matter of mounting the ponies to flee the riders when they came, but right now he had two injured charges.

Still, Minuial was fading fast. It was almost as if her will had been crushed by a greater will. He unconsciously glanced toward the crumpled rags of what had been a Ring Wraith, though perhaps that was the case; the wraith was dead but it had destroyed her will in the process. It was hard to believe, but she had killed it; she had truly killed it, but at what a cost?

Aragorn kneeled down beside Frodo who was gasping for breath against some type of pain, likely from the poison on the Nazgûl's blade. Gingerly, Aragorn moved aside the hobbit's tunic and vest to assess the wound. For a moment, in the fading light, he saw a glint of metal, which was quite possibly a piece of the blade. No matter how much Athelas he used it would do little good until that piece of the blade was removed, though Aragorn did not have the skill to do so.

He moved the hobbit closer to the fire where he could smell the sweet and reviving fragrance of the Athelas. "Dawn, Tinnu," he called the sobbing sisters, "drench a rag in the pot and rest it against your sister's head," he ordered before turning to Sam, "scoop out some of the steeped leaves and wrap them in a cloth for me," he ordered again. "We must keep both of them warm," he ordered. He could see them both fading, and it was quite possible they could turn into wraiths without healing.

Aragorn turned back to the wound; it had to be purified of the Morgûl taint before it spread further. It would take elven healing, but perhaps he could hold the hobbit over until they reached Rivendell or help.

Sam was quick to act and handed Strider a sodden cloth, which he let the plant cool in before he set the sodden leaves against the open wound. He then used the wet cloth to wipe at the edges of the wound and clean away some of the blood. Frodo was lucky it was not a fatal wound, but without treatment he could become subdued under the Nazgûl will.

Aragorn took bandages from his pouch and began to dress the wound. As he was doing so, he looked across the fire to see Tinnu pressing a cloth to her sister's head. Aragorn was shaken from his observation by Frodo coming to. The hobbit was certainly made of sterner stuff than he had thought, but Gandalf had hinted as much.

As he finished dressing the hobbit's wound, he heard Frodo recount what he had seen and the compulsion he had to put on the ring. He wanted to curse the hobbit, but he was not foolish enough to doubt the seductive power of the ring. He could hardly blame the hobbit, though he would never want to be ring bearer himself. Not with his family history.

With the wound dressed, Aragorn began to move back over to his nieces while the hobbits wrapped Frodo in extra cloaks and brought him closer to their fire.

Aragorn knelt down beside Minuial and felt for her pulse as he took the cloth from Tinnu and soaked it once more. He couldn't speak to them now that the immediate danger had passed, for he knew he would yell and blame them for what happened to his niece—to their sister. They seemed to know this too.

"_It is all my fault,"_ Dawn whispered almost brokenly in sindarin as she stared down at her pale sister, _"She is going to die because I-I did not—"_

"_It is my fault Dawn!"_ Tinnu interrupted before shakily adding, _"We should not have—"_

"_No, you should not have! You are exactly correct!" _Aragorn snapped as he interrupted his niece. He would not take their self-pity at this moment. He had warned them time and again that they were endangering their lives by doing this, but they had not listened and continued to defy him. And…and he had failed them all; Frodo and Minuial had been injured and were likely to die if they did not get proper healing!

He dropped his head and closed his eyes tightly. He shouldn't take his anger out on them. He ran a hand through his hair before standing and looking out east, "We need to move. They need treatment that my skills cannot provide," the hobbits looked up at him with wide eyes.

"These leaves," he gestured to the steaming pot, "are a healing plant that the Men of the West brought to Middle Earth. Athelas they named it, and it grows now sparsely and only near places where they dwelt or camped of old; and it is not known in the North, except to some of those who wander in the Wild. It has great virtues, but over such a wound as this its healing powers may be small."

He closed his eyes tiredly but the scent of the plant was calming his mind down and he could see it easing the hobbits' minds as well. Frodo looked up at him gravely, and he could read the question clearly in the hobbit's clever eyes.

"Frodo, you will need safety and eleven healing, for an accursed blade gave you that wound. I know you are made of sterner stuff than you appear, and I have faith you will not succumb to the evil of that wound," he paused and could see relief spreading over all of their faces, "however, we must be quick lest the wound grow worse and my healing incapable of helping."

Frodo nodded in understanding but it was Pippin who spoke up in disagreement, "What about the other five riders? Would we be running into them if we left so soon? It's nearly night!"

Aragorn looked away from them all. He knew they shouldn't have come near Weathertop but he had ignored his instincts and it had cost him dearly. What worth was his leadership when he seemed to make nothing but mistakes?

Should they run into the other five wraiths…well, they would likely be looking for a large company, especially if they happened to join back with their unhorsed comrades. No, they needed speed and stealth now; that was the only hope for Frodo and his niece…yet Minuial was responding well to the Athelas, so as long as they stopped periodically to steep its leaves and set rags against her head, she should hold on longer than Frodo should his wound grew worse, but he could not burden both of his nieces with an injured comrade.

He turned to look at his lost looking nieces. He saw guilt plainly on their faces, and for a moment they looked like little girls again—not young women eligible for marriage. He closed his eyes heavily. He did not want to do this, but time was of the essence and it was a long ways to Rivendell. He had faith in Frodo to hold out, but there was no guarantee.

"_Were you taught how to transport injured persons?"_ the girls nodded curtly to his question. Aragorn nodded as well, _"Then you will prove yourselves now and make up for your brashness," _he was being harsh and cold, but his anger at them and himself was burning hot in his veins. They flinched at his words but nodded gravely in understanding. He regarded them sternly, _"You will take Frodo and follow the Road to the Ford of Bruinen, hopefully you will chance upon Gandalf or one of the Eleven scouts."_

"_They should take their sister, I feel well,"_ Frodo immediately protested, but Aragorn turned on him along with his nieces. The girls had a hard look in their eye that told Aragorn they were going to prove themselves no matter what and Frodo seemed to understand that.

"_You wanted their protection before, Frodo," _Aragorn reminded him almost vindictively and he noticed the hobbit flinch, _"Now, they will spirit you Rivendell. They know how to move with the shadows and avoid detection, I have faith you will travel more quickly and safely with them,"_ though it weighed heavily on his heart to say so, to endanger his nieces more than he already had, _"The rest of us will act as a diversion, and I doubt when Minuial is on your pony that the Wraiths will think she is anyone else but you."_

The rest of the hobbits were looking at them with furrowed brows but a grim smile from Frodo stopped their questions.

"Very well, Strider," Frodo spoke in westron, "I will travel with your nieces and Minuial will travel on my pony and pretend to be me." Dawning realization moved across the rest of the hobbits and they looked ready to protest, "I trust you two to protect me," Frodo addressed the pale yet determined sisters. They nodded in return before looking back down at their sister.

"This will be for the best, Sam," Aragorn addressed the stout hobbit who was ready to protest, "My niece will need the invigorating scent of Athelas more frequently than Frodo, and my nieces will transport him to Rivendell much faster and more discreetly than we could hope to. I do not doubt that if we remained together, Frodo would make it Rivendell, but there is no telling how terrible his wound might be by then."

The hobbit's rebuttal seemed halted and he just nodded resignedly. Aragorn, satisfied with the agreement in the group, turned to his nieces who both gingerly brushed at their unconscious sister's hair. "One of you will scout ahead and search for more Athelas, I am afraid I do not have enough to split amongst us. You know how to find it," he added and they nodded curtly before gingerly setting their sister onto the ground fully and standing.

"I will carry you Frodo," Tinnu announced as she moved around the fire. Aragorn nodded in agreement, she was faster than her sister and he knew she had memorized the map of this region. She would make their way to the Ford with little trouble.

"I will begin searching for more Athelas," Dawn then flickered out of sight, and Aragorn grimly watched in the fading light Tinnu situate Frodo in a recovery position that would jostle him the least in their travel.

He had to pray for the best. He had to hope he was not endangering Minuial more by using her as a decoy of sorts. He had to hope his nieces would not run into trouble, and he had to pray his friend was a live, for he had heard no news from the girls.

…

Night was practically upon them, along with the wraiths when they suddenly halted and froze. Sasuke faltered in his run to look behind him. It was at that moment that the four following wraiths gave inhuman cries of rage and…and fear? The two horses were turned around and made to travel back west.

Sasuke glanced back over at Gandalf who had brought Shadowfax to a halt several feet away. The old man seemed just as confused as Sasuke. Why? Why were they heading back that way?!

"I will proceed ahead and look for Elven scouts—"

"Fuck no!" Sasuke cut the old man off, and of course Gandalf jerked back affronted. "We go back, cut them off, and guide them into an area where I can light them up!"

The old man stared at him from his most imposing height, but Sasuke held his ground and even began running backwards in the direction the Nazgûl had gone. "You saw them, old man, something caught their attention. It could have been an ally of theirs or the Ring. Are you going to chance it?"

The old man glared at him before he sighed and maneuvered Shadowfax to turn around. "I am assuming you can go faster?" He asked and Sasuke smirked slightly, which was all the answer Gandalf needed, "Very well, overtake them and I will bring up the rear to guide them."

The former nuke-nin needed no further encouragement and disappeared in a blur as he raced after the Nazgûl in the fading light.

He wove through the hills and cut in front of the creatures. The horse whinnied and attempted a sharp turn, which it completed successfully, but now it was galloping closer to the other Nazgûl pair, as Sasuke had intended. He flickered in front of the other pair before flicker again to the side of the same horse. The creature reared back on its hind legs and dropped its riders. Sasuke didn't hesitate and activated his eternal sharingan before setting them ablaze with the all-consuming black flames.

Now he only had two to deal with, since the others were uncloaked. He did not expect to have the same luck again, but he would do what he could regardless. He quickly put out the fires before they spread and hurried after the other two Nazgûl. He would keep his eyes peeled for any shifting shadows that might indicate their allies. He could not risk his family, not again. He had to drive these creatures away, he had to immobilize them.

The horse wove expertly between his flickering images, so much so that even when Sasuke suddenly appeared before it, the horse was able to maneuver around him.

They continued this, but now the horse had slowed down substantially, and Gandalf was closing in to their left. Smirking to himself, it would only be a matter of time until the Nazgûl were trapped.

…

Tinnu continued running with Frodo securely positioned on her back. "How are you?" she asked lowly as she darted into another night shadow, "I'm not jostling you too much, am I?" she asked as she continued moving like a blur.

The hobbit let out a shaky breath, and she began to ramble, "This is my first time actually transporting an injured person—I mean, I've practiced but that's not the same thing as **actually** transporting someone who's—"

"You are doing fine, Miss Tinnu," he replied in an uneasy tone, "I have just never moved so quickly before," he caught his breath sharply and she could feel his hands hold onto her shoulders in a vice like grip, "It is a little terrifying."

"Oh…sorry," she looked about her and continued moving in the darkest places. Both of them had their cloaks up and the hobbit was shrouded in several cloaks to keep warm. Dawn would likely meet back up with them soon, which might break up the awkward tension between them.

She had crossed several more yards in the matter of seconds when Frodo spoke up softly, "I am sorry to have dragged you all into this, I-I—" his voice was choked with guilt and Tinnu tilted her head down.

"No…we caused this ourselves," she murmured, "we just wanted to prove we could be so much more than housewives. We wanted to fly for once in our lives." She felt her eyes burning and her throat closing up. Look where their selfishness had brought them, Minuial was going to die…

"We wanted to help…." She began to slow down as her vision blurred around her, and before she knew it, she had stopped and couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Frodo slid off of her back when she dropped to her knees. She could hear him shifting as he moved to face her uncomfortably, but then she felt him tentatively place his hands upon her shoulders.

"You and your sisters are braver than many men, and I know Minuial will be fine…" he trailed off and squeezed her shoulders, "She killed a Black Rider; she is strong."

Tinnu looked into the hobbit's face and saw his sincerity through her blurred vision. "She is," Tinnu gasped as she nodded. She had tried to be strong but this was her twin, her other half, hanging onto life by a thread. Her head fell against the hobbit's uninjured shoulder and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and Tinnu clung to his cloak as if she might fall over.

As she cried she heard a familiar screech fill the air and she jerked back in alarm along with Frodo. Dawn touched down several yards away but it was clear it was her based on the way she moved. Dawn was looking off into the distance as if tracking people. In the darkness, Tinnu could see her sister's eyes glowing bright red with her sharingan, and not for the first time did she feel jealous that she did not have those eyes. She had been so afraid during the fight but Sam would snap her out of it and Ojisan was so near at hand she had not truly feared for her life.

Tinnu tried to look where her sister was looking, but she saw nothing but shadow—not even a silhouette on the horizon could be seen.

Tinnu pulled herself together and positioned Frodo onto her back again, and in one bound, landed beside her sister. Dawn suddenly gasped and a smile split across her face, _"Tousan!"_ she murmured and nearly dropped the leaves she held in her hands.

"_Tousan?!"_ Tinnu found herself repeating with growing hope. Tousan could heal Minuial, he could take them home and they could pretend this was a horrible nightmare, _"You see him?!"_

"_Yes! He's with this old man on a grey horse—I think," _Dawn squinted slightly, _"They have a horse with two riders cornered and—"_ she broke off and gasped as another high pitched shriek filled the air, _"He set them on fire, but the flames are…black. Do you know what technique that is?"_

"_No…" _Tinnu frowned but she shook her head and looked excitedly at her sister.

"What language are you speaking? It sounds like Sindarin yet not…" Frodo spoke up from over Tinnu's shoulder, but the girls barely paid his question any thought as they both began running toward where they knew their Tousan to be.

"It's a mix," Tinnu replied in an excited tone, "Our father is up ahead and he seems to have killed two more black riders."

"Should we head that way? There may be three more!" Frodo sounded alarmed and Tinnu could understand why, but she needed her Tousan after the disaster their adventure had been, she needed him.

"He'll protect us," Dawn answered for Tinnu, her tone almost came off as cold, but Tinnu knew better. Dawn was just as excited, but she was also anxious.

As they hurried across the rather open country, Tinnu began to make out two silhouettes. One was unmistakably her father and the other was a man on a horse. For a moment she feared it was a rider but she remembered her sister's description from before.

Sasuke panted as the last of the Nazgûl's cloaks smoldered away. He stopped the fire from spreading but he felt the strain of using Amateratsu for the majority of the day. He vaguely thought he felt two chakra sources coming towards them and so tiredly turned his head to the side. His sharingan made out the figures approaching with startling clarity and his fatigue was forgotten.

He did not say a word to Gandalf as he took off in a blur to meet his daughters half way. He noted the hobbit in a recovery position on Tinnu's back but in his elation he pushed the thought aside. He enveloped both girls, and consequently hobbit, in a one armed hug. He set his head atop Dawn's head for she was the tallest. As he hugged them, he felt the stress of the last few days draining away from him.

The hobbit gave a cry of pain and Sasuke let go of Tinnu to grab Dawn's face. Screw Uchiha stoicism, he was so happy they were alive and safe. He pressed kisses upon her forehead while looking not so discreetly for any injuries. He then turned to Tinnu who had set the hobbit back on his feet. He grabbed her face and gave her the same treatment, but as he looked between the two he realized something his elation had blocked.

"What happened," he demanded as he pulled back from them, his face a neutral mask.

The girls looked between each other guiltily and looked down in shame, no…no, they did not abandon Minuial—he and the dobe had taught them to never abandon their comrades! Unless…oh gods no…

His legs gave out under him, no… no… "What happened?" he repeated, his voice cracked twice but otherwise came out strong.

The girls began to cry but did not answer. That seemed to seal his fears.

"Miss Minuial is alive still," the hobbit spoke up, but his head was also bowed in shame. Sasuke looked over at him uncomprehendingly, she was alive _still_. Still alive…meaning not dead…yet.

"What happened!" he demanded as he looked between his daughters before looking at the hobbit again, perhaps he was more willing to speak.

Just as the hobbit was about to speak, Gandalf trotted up next to them and practically jumped off of Shadowfax.

"Frodo! What are you doing here, where is Aragorn?" the tall man knelt beside this Frodo, and he grabbed the hobbit's shoulders to look at him seriously; however the hobbit winced and shied away.

"What happened?"

"That's what I've been asking!" Sasuke gritted out and glared at the still silent hobbit, who looked ready to go on a long monologue of whatever had passed since he last saw the old man. Sasuke didn't care if the hobbit was injured, he wanted to know what happened to his daughter.

"Oh Gandalf!" the hobbit cried, "I do wish Butterbur had sent your letter—"

"Tell me what the fuck happened to my daughter before I—" Sasuke had interrupted the hobbit and held him up by his cloak with his good hand. His eyes were spinning with the sharingan again despite the ache all the chakra to his eyes was causing.

"Dû!" Gandalf had cut Sasuke's threat off and sent him a hard glare. Sasuke remained holding onto the wide eyed hobbit and just sneered at the old man.

"You Middle-earthlings talk way to fucking much. For all I know, my daughter is on the brink of death and no one is telling me what happened!" he growled this out.

"_We-we're sorry Tousan!" _Dawn finally spoke up brokenly beside him_. "I-I failed to protect—"_

"_We shouldn't have left, we're sorry!"_ Tinnu cried at the same time and Sasuke set the hobbit down as his expression softened into a neutral one.

"_You can apologize and tell me your failings later,"_ he looked them both in the eye and they nodded slowly, _"What happened to Minuial?"_

Gandalf looked between them before taking Frodo aside to get what information he could out of the hobbit, which would likely be a long summarization of perhaps months. Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes at them.

"_The riders found us,"_ Tinnu began, _"We got your message,"_ she attempted a wry smile but it fell short, _"but then we heard the riders."_

"_We fought them and then Minuial…she killed one of them, but she fell into a coma, I think,"_ Dawn looked at him in confusion and Sasuke knew he looked slightly skeptical, _"Why didn't that happen to you when you killed them?"_

"_I didn't kill them, I uncloaked them which leaves them without a shape," _he shook his head and looked at his daughters in disbelief, _"What do you mean she killed it? I was under the impression they were immortal. I used chidori on it and it still did not die," _he then gestured down to his lame arm and the girls gasped as they looked at it.

"_Oh no! You can't heal her now!" _Tinnu wailed in despair before she began crying again, _"She's going to die, she's going to die!"_

"_I can do minor, one-handed healing techniques, but if the damage is substantial…"_ he shook his head. He had to focus, _"Where is she?"_

"_Probably still at the dell below Weathertop."_ Dawn responded for her hysterical sister.

"_Then we need to go."_ They could not delay if they felt so certain their sister was going to die, oh gods…he couldn't lose her after all they had gone through. He couldn't lose one of his baby girls—and they would always be his babies because in his mind they were.

"_What about the riders?" _Tinnu asked as she tried to get her tears under check.

"_That was the last of them," _Sasuke stated quickly before amending his statement,_ "excluding the ones you fought."_

They nodded again and Sasuke straightened up next to them, but he cast one look at Gandalf who was nodding to what the fast talking hobbit was telling him. Sasuke had to interrupt, though he really shouldn't bother informing the old man—Sasuke's actions were his own—but he didn't want to be halted with questions when he tried to leave.

"I'm heading with my daughters back to their camp. Perhaps you two should continue your chatter while making for Rivendell before his injury festers." It took very little brain power to deduce where the girls were headed without their Ojisan but with an injured hobbit instead.

Gandalf blinked several times before looking back at Frodo, "What were you injured by?" he asked almost urgently.

"By one of the rider's blades," Gandalf's eyes widened and he quickly scooped the hobbit up onto his horse and mounted behind him. "Farewell, Dû, and good luck. Should we not meet again, you are a formidable warrior," he then nodded and spurred the horse on. Sasuke glared after the old man before he turned to address his daughters.

He didn't need to say anything for both girls knew what he would have said, and in unison they hurried off back toward their camp.

They moved in silence across the now open country. His daughters were on either side of him as they led the way. They had their arms thrown back as proper ninja should, and he knew they were circulating chakra into their legs to push them faster and faster across the country. He knew his daughters were exhausted, particularly Dawn, and he briefly wondered why that was—her fatigue was much greater than Tinnu's and unless she used more jutsu than her sister, he saw no reason for it. His daughters seldom used jutsu while they fought, perhaps the occasional kawarimi or illusion, but they had no true offensive jutsu.

With the speed they were traveling they crossed a large part of the country and so quickly came upon a company of four ponies and one man walking. Based on his silhouette, Sasuke deduced it was Aragorn.

"Sasuke?! Dawn?! Tinnu?!" the man walking moved faster toward them as Sasuke and his daughters slowed down. Sasuke noted that Aragorn was leading one of the ponies by the reins while its rider was slumped against the pony's neck. The other ponies were spurred faster by their riders, and soon they were all in one large group.

"Friend I am glad you are well," Aragorn began in a low voice, though the ranger did not move to clasp arms as they often did in greeting. Though, Sasuke only spared the oddity a little attention before he nodded his greeting in return. His gaze then shifted over to the slumped rider. The rider was covered in cloaks which made it difficult to see who it was, but Sasuke deduced this must be his daughter.

He started to reach for her as he began speaking, "What exactly happened? I understand she killed a Nazgûl but describe what happened." It was a struggle to get her off the pony with his one arm but Aragorn came up beside him and helped him get Minuial down onto the ground.

"I did not see what happened, only that she screamed followed by the Nazgûl which then seemed to crush in upon itself…it was…a strange sight," Aragorn replied slowly as he helped Sasuke move away the layers of cloak.

"Nazgûl are the riders?" Dawn asked, likely for clarification but Sasuke's attention was too focused on his youngest daughter—if only by a few hours—to answer. Minuial was pale as a corpse and when he brushed some hair out of her face, her skin was chilled, much like his arm.

Dawn likely got her confirmation for she began to speak, using the new term for the riders hesitantly, "Minuial was fighting the…Nazgûl with her broadswords and she was able to cut it diagonally across the chest while cutting it horizontally at the throat. Halfway through her attack she screamed and her swords…they burst into a million pieces!" Dawn sounded horrified yet also in disbelief. She knew how they forged their weapons and so knew there was no simple way for them to literally _burst_ into pieces.

"_W-wait, Tousan, you put your hand through one! I-is that why—?"_ Tinnu was speaking up now and was at his side as well, but he held up his good arm to silence Tinnu and hold off her concerned actions. He needed to think.

It made no sense that she would have symptoms like those in his arm if she had not physically come in contact with the creature's insides. He had been feeling for a pulse and there was one, but it was terribly faint. This would not due…

He began to circulate chakra into his tired eyes, and he heard the hobbits gasp and take stuttering steps back. However, as soon as Sasuke had his sharingan activated, you could see no glow of chakra, not even at the point where all chakra originates. That was not possible!

With one hand, he ran through the hand signs he had used to open up a few of the tenketsu points in his arm, he then set it just above his daughter's navel. The chakra flickered before being snuffed out like a candle…

"_Tousan?"_ Tinnu began slowly, and he could feel Dawn kneeling down beside him in concern.

"My friend?" Aragorn questioned cautiously, and Sasuke wanted to yell at the man and curse him. Why hadn't he protected his daughters better!? Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, and shook his head to push aside the rage. As he closed his eyes he deactivated his Sharingan.

"I-I'm sorry sir, but I can't keep quiet no more!" a stout hobbit spoke up suddenly, "Where's Mister Frodo, what's happened to him?"

Sasuke shot a glare at the hobbit and he jerked backwards like he was struck but it was Dawn who spoke quickly and absently in response to his question, "This old man, Gandalf, took him."

"Gandalf!" the hobbits cried in relief and excitement, but before they could begin asking a million and one questions—as was the habit of Middle-earthlings—Aragorn broke in.

"My friend, what is it? You looked as if there was no hope, what do you believe is wrong with Minuial?"

Sasuke took a deep breath before he looked at each of his conscious daughters and his friend, "There's no chakra left in her, but she still has a pulse."

"What?!" Dawn and Tinnu shouted. Aragorn, for his part, looked concerned but not nearly as much as he should look, but then he did not know to the full extent what chakra meant.

"It should be impossible," Sasuke agreed with his daughter's disbelieving looks. "I tried to open her main tenketsu point but it remained shut and my chakra just disappeared," he paused and took in a shuddering breath, "I don't know what to do to help."

Aragorn looked like he was pondering something but he eventually spoke up, "Sasuke," he began, "to me it seemed that her will had been overpowered by a much stronger one. If that is the case, eleven healing may help…"

He would have preferred a more definite response but it would have to do. He would take whatever risk if there was a slim possibility for his daughter to recover.

"How do I get there?" Sasuke was already wrapping the cloaks back around Minuial.

"It takes at least a fort night on foot to get to Rivendell, and even then, sentries may attack you!" Aragorn looked like he wanted to physically stop him but he dared not.

"Then give me a letter of introduction!" Sasuke snapped back before he took a deep breath, "If you tell me how to get there, I can most likely get there before the old man and that hobbit do." He was exasperated and worried, and if **anyone** tried to stop him, he really should not be held culpable for his actions.

Aragorn looked ready to speak up again and Sasuke growled in frustration, "Just do this for me Aragorn before my daughter dies!"

The ranger flinched, perhaps partially because he used the rangers real name—which Sasuke seldom did in the company of strangers—and also because of the man's own guilt over Minuial's condition.

"_Tousan, I'm sorry I should have protected—"_

"_We shouldn't have left, I'm sorry—"_

Both his daughters had decided to speak up at the same time, and Sasuke closed his eyes tightly as he interrupted them in a very controlled voice, _"We will discuss this later." _They flinched but Sasuke continued on, _"I will take your sister now, and you two will travel with your uncle to Rivendell. Am I clear?"_ He wouldn't be separated from them any longer, and he was not sure if it would be safe in Bree for them.

The girls looked down at the ground and nodded heavily. Sasuke then prepared to set Minuial on his back in a recovery position. It would be awkward and he would likely have to tie Minuial's hands together in front of him so she would not fall off. He could only hold onto her with one hand, which made matters very difficult.

"My friend," Aragorn began, though his voice was low and suggested the guilt he felt, "when you take breaks steep Athelas and soak a rag in the water to set upon Minuial's head." He paused and seemed to be rummaging in his pack. He continued to do so as he continued speaking, "The scent may revive her failing will, and should her condition worsen, I would suggest doing the same again."

Aragorn was now scribbling on a piece of parchment quickly before he began to work off the silver ring he wore—the one with the two snakes with emerald eyes who were eating each other. He straightened and handed the parchment and ring to Sasuke, who tucked them into his makeshift kunai holster, "This should get you entrance into Rivendell, and I have explained what happened so you will not be required to," there was a slight glimmer of amusement in his gray eyes as he said this, and Sasuke scoffed. The ranger did know him well, for Sasuke would not have the patience to deal with the questions the elves would likely ask him.

"H-here you go sir," the stout hobbit who spoke up earlier held out a small cooking pot, "for the King's Foil," he stated as he put into the pack Sasuke had moved from his back to his front.

Aragorn then gestured off toward the south, "You will take the Old Road since you do not know the landmarks well enough to travel as a ranger would. You will pass the Last Bridge and after passing through the Trollshaw you will come upon the Ford of Bruinen. At that point you will likely gain the attention of sentries, and once presenting the letter and my ring they should escort you the rest of the way."

Aragorn set a hand onto Sasuke's shoulder and looked at him gravely, "I should have protected them better, or sent them away," he practically whispered these words and Sasuke sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Like they would have listened," his voice came out gruffly. Aragorn sighed and shook his head at the truth of the statement, "We'll talk about this later." Sasuke had spent enough time with all of this, it was time for him to make for Rivendell and quickly.

He nodded to the company around him before shifting Minuial on his back slightly before bending forward so she would be resting more on his back without choking him or falling off. Sasuke then began to run as quickly as he could without jostling his daughter.

Within a matter of moments, Aragorn could no longer see his friend, though Tinnu and Dawn continued to look into the distance as if they could see him still.

Aragorn refrained from sighing, but he felt like a failure all around. He had proven himself to having poor leadership skills and his friend—practically brother—could now lose one of his daughters. With Arad—because Aragorn would never feel comfortable calling her Naruto—possibly gone forever, his friend would not even have the possibility of growing a larger family to try to ease the ache of losing a child.

He felt eyes on him and repressed a sigh again. The hobbits and his nieces were likely looking to him for leadership. Sure enough, when he turned around they were staring at him expectantly.

"We should continue on as planned. There are Nazgûl behind us on foot, but if we rest they may catch up with us, for they travel most swiftly by night. He then looked to his two nieces, "Had your father informed of their status? Are the rest chasing after Gandalf and Frodo?"

"No…" Dawn began before Tinnu piped in.

"Father said he uncloaked the last of them," her tone rang with forced enthusiasm and her expression was tight.

"Uncloaked?" Pippin asked, though his voice broke in the middle of it. "What does that even do?"

"Umm…well…" Tinnu furrowed her brow and grimaced in thought.

"Father said they were left without shape, which seems to make them harmless?" Dawn frowned slightly. Though she wasn't positive this was the case, it would certainly make her father's dismissive nature of the information make sense. He seemed to think those riders would not bother them again.

"I see," Aragorn nodded his head, "then we should continue on, and the road may even be safe to travel, though I know more secret and sometimes faster routes," Aragorn thought over which travel path would work best and nodded his head when he came to a decision, "We shall take the fastest routes which will be a mix of the two."

With a plan in mind, he began to lead them across the fairly open country. It was quiet for a few moments, but he could practically feel the hobbits bursting with questions.

"Why was your father traveling with Gandalf?" Sam spoke up, "And Mister Frodo **is** truly traveling with Gandalf to Rivendell?"

Dawn looked over her shoulder at him in confusion for a moment but Tinnu spoke up first, "Is Gandalf that old guy with the really long beard and hair and the blue hat?"

"Yes," Sam replied quickly, visibly relieved.

"Um, well we don't know how father began traveling with him," Tinnu grimaced and shrugged slightly, though Aragorn noticed her actions and expressions were stiff; a sign that she did not want to be interacting with the hobbits, but rather be with her thoughts. Aragorn could almost imagine of what nature her thoughts were, for he imagined they were like his own: he had failed, allowed this to happen, but above all else, he feared for his niece's life.

No, such dark thoughts could be thought on later in the light of day, for now they must be driven away. "I imagine your father discovered your absence and went to search for me or my location," the girls winced but he proceeded on, "and chanced upon Gandalf. Though I do wonder how exactly they came to travel together," the girls nodded their heads, perhaps because they knew their father did not trust easily. Aragorn agreed but he also knew that Gandalf did not trust so easily either.

"We must be pretty lucky then," Pippin chirped, which earned him looks from everyone around the young hobbit, he grimaced and shrugged, "well Gandalf will get Frodo to Rivendell quickly, as will your father—Sasuke wasn't it?" the hobbit seemed to find the name strange.

Dawn and Tinnu nodded their heads slowly, though they did not look as positive as the young hobbit did, and Aragorn had to agree with them. If they had truly been lucky, they would have avoided the Nazgûl altogether.

"You know, your father seems awfully familiar," Merry murmured with a pensive expression. Pippin had his brow furrowed for a moment but then recognition appeared upon his face, though Sam continued to look puzzled.

"Yes, he does seem familiar…" Pippin trailed off with his own confused but pensive expression, "You know, he looks an awful lot like that blacksmith apprentice that lived in Crickhollow before it became haunted."

Aragorn chuckled slightly as they continued traveling. The hobbits, as well as his nieces, turned to look at him in alarm, "What is it Strider, do you know of whom we're talking about?' Merry asked with an almost excited edge to his voice.

"By any chance was this blacksmith apprentice named Dû and did he have a wife with golden hair named Arad?"

"Yes!" Pippin practically jumped up and down before he paused, "Strider, have you had much business with hobbits then?"

"Mother and Father used to live in the Shire, didn't they Uncle?" Tinnu asked and Aragorn nodded. He remembered his friend telling him so once when Aragorn described what the Grey Company often did—that being, protecting the Shire.

"What?!" exclaimed the hobbits and Aragorn found himself chuckling slightly.

"Perhaps one of you two could demonstrate how your parents were able to blend in with the hobbits?"

The girls nodded and held their hands up in a strange form before there was a cloud of smoke and a replica of Sam and Pippin stood before the hobbits. The hobbits' eyes looked about ready to pop out of their heads.

"We're not sure how Mother and Father created their own illusions," Dawn, or at least Aragorn presumed the Sam replica was Dawn, stated before continuing, "Though they have had many more years of experience transforming their appearance."

The girls then released the illusion and the hobbits continued to stare at them in amazement. "Your magic is so fascinating!" Pippin exclaimed while Sam threw a wary look their way.

"Gandalf doesn't do any magic like that," the stout hobbit had a slight frown on his face after the initial shock and awe had passed. He even looked unsettled.

"It is not magic. We use this energy to shift the way the light hits us so that a different image is given off," Dawn stated confidently.

"I am afraid, my niece, that they will not understand what you mean, for I do not understand it in the least," Aragorn looked wryly at his nieces who both opened their mouths as if to speak, and explain just what they meant, but the last time that happened Aragorn's head had been left reeling. There was something about how the eye perceived a reflection of light off of things, which made absolutely no sense to him, and then there was the following discussion on night vision being a widening of a part of the eye to let in more starlight. He just shook his head.

"Why not I tell you more of Gil-galad?" he asked over his shoulder to the mounted hobbits, who visibly looked relieved while his nieces began to pout again. "You two may aide me in the telling, or perhaps we should recite another old lay?" he mused and Dawn practically jumped in excitement, though they all knew this was to stave off the dreadful thoughts and worry she had for her sister.

"The Tale of Tinúviel!" she exclaimed smiling slightly, "You sang it to me often as a child," she added in a smaller voice.

"That I did, perhaps both of you could sing it with me?" the girls nodded, and again relief shown in their eyes for the distraction. And so they traveled through the night and shared ancient elven songs with the hobbits.

* * *

_**3017 October, 5**_

He had to stop; his limbs were burning from the chakra he was expending as well as from the near non-stop running of the past five days. Sasuke had had no sleep either in at least two days, and even before when he did sleep; he would only get a few hours' sleep at a time.

He crouched down and carefully took Minuial's arms from around his neck and did his best to lay her gently on the ground. It took a bit of contortionism but he managed even with his lame arm.

Sasuke knew he had passed the old man sometime near dawn, for he was now traveling much faster than Shadowfax, but he was still perhaps only half way through the plains. He could see the shadow of a tree line on the horizon, which he presumed was the Trollshaw. If it took a fortnight on foot to reach Rivendell, what would that mean for him?

He pulled up a mental map. That forest Fangorn, though vast, spanned a fair bit of the Elemental Lands but was about the distance from Bree to the Bridge of Mitheithel or the Last Bridge. That bridge was about a half-way point between Weathertop and Rivendell. If a ninja was running at full tilt with few stops, it would take perhaps four or five days.

He sighed heavily and shook his head. Sasuke then moved to feel for Minuial's pulse. When she had been on his back he could feel her shallow breath puff against his neck, but now that she was laying down he had no way to tell if she was still alive, and it was not cold enough to see if her breath fogged up a kunai. He sighed in relief at the slow but still present pulse he felt beneath his fingers.

Sasuke looked around him but found little he could use for a fire in this wide plain. Instead he poured some water from his water skin into the pot that stout hobbit had given him. Sasuke then put in a few Athelas leaves before he set the pot on the ground and began to channel his fire aligned chakra into the pot.

It was soon steaming, and the scent revived some of his energy and soothed his sore limbs, but this wasn't for him. He grabbed a cloth and dipped it into the steaming water though he refrained from grimacing at the heat. He then used the side of the pot to help him wring out some of the water. From there he gingerly set the rag against his daughter's cool forehead.

He rummaged through his pack for a moment and found one of his apples. It was bruised and beginning to wrinkle, but he had eaten very little in the last five days and had expended far too much chakra for the amount he had eaten. Once he ate down to the core, he tossed the remains behind him and wetted the cloth on Minuial's forehead once more.

Sitting down for what felt like the first time in days, and the clear scent of the Athelas invading his senses, emphasized the lethargy he felt in his limbs. Without really knowing, his head dropped forward and his eyes closed.

"_Teme"_ the dobe whispered into his ear before she pressed kiss against the shell. Sasuke's eyes fluttered open and he turned to see the dobe kneeling behind him. Her arms were draped over his shoulders and she was pressed against his back. She smiled slightly.

"_Teme"_ she whispered again as one hand slid down his damaged arm, and for a moment he could feel the nerves react and tingle. _"War is coming"_ she murmured before she dropped her chin onto his shoulder. Sasuke furrowed his brow as the dobe continued speaking.

"_War is coming whether you fight or flee," _her hand moved away from his arm again and grabbed his jaw. She turned his head toward the east.

The line of trees in the distance glowed with fire, or so it seemed. When he saw no flames eating away the leaves, he thought it was a sun rising above the tree line. But then he saw it, an eye wreathed in flame. _"See, teme, war is coming no matter what. The question is: what will you do?"_

He turned back to the dobe and she gave him a small smile before fading from existence. With a gasp, Sasuke's head shot up and he looked around him in confusion.

"_Dobe…"_ he called but saw the area was just as it had been when he must have fallen asleep. The east was clear, and the sun was getting higher in the sky—it was perhaps mid-day. He shook his head and moved to check on Minuial.

He would eat one more apple, and help Minuial drink little water—so she would not die of dehydration—before setting off again. He would get Minuial to Rivendell as quickly as he could, and once there he'd let himself think. _War is coming, hmm?_ Well, his family wouldn't fall into it so easily.

* * *

_A Suivre_

* * *

Naruto smiled as she pressed herself against the teme. They were outside somewhere but it wasn't the Old Forest or the chetwood that surrounded Bree. In fact, they seemed to be in an open yet slightly hilly plain. Off in the west was a large hill with a conical top that was slightly flattened. Hmm… why would she and the teme be out here?

No matter, she was with the teme again. Smiling, she pressed a kiss against his ear while calling her endearment for him. The teme turned his head to look at her, but he looked so tired and haunted. She frowned slightly and moved to drape herself over his shoulders. It was then that she noticed his arm was bandaged. Curious, she slid her hand down his arm and could feel the coolness of the teme's skin through the bandages.

She frowned and wanted to ask why his arm was the way it was but he continued to look at her with a tormented expression, _"War is coming, dobe; no matter if I fight or flee, it is coming,"_ he almost looked frightened.

"_Teme?"_ he ignored her worried question and turned to face the east.

"_At least you will be safe from it,"_ he sounded relieved, _"War is coming to Middle Earth and I don't know what I will do."_

"_Teme!?"_ she tried to get him to look at her again but he wouldn't. Growling at his stubbornness, Naruto looked over into the east and gasped. There was a huge ball of fire! Wait…no, that was an eye—a fiery eye! She stumbled backwards in alarm and felt her body collide with something else. She looked down and felt her breath catch.

Minuial? What?! She looked so pale, like death. "Minuial?!" she called, but as she reached out for her daughter she faded away, along with the teme.

No, no! _"TEME! MINU!" _ Naruto shot up on the hospital bed, grasping outwards as if her husband would be there waiting for her, but all she met was air.

Kakashi shot awake at his former student's worried cry. His back felt stiff from falling asleep in the chair, but at Naruto's renewed sobbing, he set aside his back pains and reached a tentative hand outwards.

Naruto jerked back slightly and looked at Kakashi with wide eyes. _"Kaka-sensei?"_ he asked in a trembling voice.

"_Yes Naruto-kun,"_ he gave an eye-smile and the blonde sniffled a few more times before hugging him. It seemed strange to call this full grown man—this replica of sesnei— –kun, but that was how he had always called Naruto. Naruto would always be that seventeen-year old that joined the five great nations in battle against Obito.

"_You're Hokage?"_ he asked with a wavering smile as he pulled back.

Kakashi swallowed thickly as he nodded. _"We searched for you…"_ it felt wrong wearing this hat with Naruto awake and before him. The blonde looked down almost guiltily.

"_I should get Tsunade-hime,"_he stood slowly and began for the door but he paused and looked over at the skeletal blonde on the bed, _"I've thought about passing the hat off to Konohamaru in a few years." _

The blonde smiled broadly and Kakashi could tell it was genuine, _"Good, I bet Konohamaru will be an excellent Hokage."_

Kakashi nodded and left the room. Once he left the room he took a moment to collect himself. That had been a test, a test to see if Naruto still wanted the Hokage title, and he…he didn't. Oh gods, that was like seeing Obito behind the mask all those years ago. It felt like some fundamental part of who Kakashi was had turned out to be false. Whoever the skeleton on that bed was, it wasn't really Naruto…not any more.

"_Hokage-sama?"_ Tsunade was walking down the hall at that moment with a clipboard in hand, _"Has the patient awakened?"_ he could only nod. _"I see, well, should be begin questioning?"_

"_I suppose,"_ Kakashi was surprised by how even his voice came out.

She nodded and entered the room first, Kakashi followed her numbly. He sat down in the same chair he had vacated only a few minutes ago. Naruto immediately greeted Tsunade with the warmth and over familiarity he had always greeted the woman with. She smiled fondly in return before sitting at the foot of his bed.

"_Naruto-kun," _she began once pleasantries were completed _"We searched for you for seven years, what happened?"_

Naruto looked down at his lap in shame, clearly understanding the stress and sadness he had put everyone through.

"_Naruto-kun?"_ Kakashi ventured, _"I tried to follow you with the Kamui but I never could. Please, what happened? Where have you been?"_ the blonde bit his lip as if anxious and uncertain whether he should tell them or not.

"_I woke up naked without any idea who I was, where I came from, or where I was,"_ Naruto stated at last in a small voice, _"Otherwise I would have found a way home sooner."_

"_How long did your amnesia last?"_ Tsuande asked in a professional manner.

Naruto's hands began to tremble and Kakashi could see tears gathering in his eyes. _"Kurama was prolonging it, but I eventually regained them eight years ago." _ Naruto closed his eyes tightly and clutched her blankets as tears began to fall, _"I spent nearly three years trying to find a way back after regaining them but…"_ he shook his head, and Kakashi wished he could read minds.

"_What is it Naruto-kun?" _Tsunade asked in an almost motherly tone.

The blonde just shook his head and tried to wipe vainly at his tears. Tsunade sighed, _"Naruto," _she dropped the honorific to suggest the seriousness with which she was going to speak, _"We know you were a woman there and have likely had children, you can—"_

"_Were a woman…?" _the blonde asked with dawning horror as he looked down at his chest and groped at it with his skeletal hands. He gave an 'eep' before feeling between his legs and actually screaming. _"I'm a man again?!" _he asked in horror before clutching at his far too thin face. The blonde was beginning to hyperventilate and Kakashi closed his eye heavily before standing up while Tsunade tried to calm the man down.

"_I should stop into my office."_ He was expecting the Kazekage sometime soon, and he needed to make sure Gaara did not find out about Naruto. It looked like…Kakashi sighed and shook his head as he moved into the hospital hallway. He wasn't sure what to make of things.

Naruto no longer wanted to be Hokage; he had let that dream go for some reason. Naruto had gone to some strange world where he was a woman and likely had children, possibly even with Sasuke—when the dobe shouted teme there had been an emotion, the Naruto Kakashi knew had never used with Sasuke…it sounded almost like love, romantic love; then there was that second name, possibly a child? Kakashi couldn't exactly accuse Naruto of defecting either, since he had been without his memoires for almost a decade and then had dedicated three years to research and likely continued his research if he came back now—and Kakashi knew the man was telling the truth, he was still transparent and couldn't lie to save himself. But Konoha secrets were likely being leaked somewhere and there was likely an army of sharingan users being born in that land.

If Naruto could return, what was stopping Sasuke with his unholy spawn from showing up in the Elemental lands and lighting it all up with their demonic eyes? What stopped Sasuke from finishing what he started seventeen years ago? Perhaps he was experimenting with Naruto's return here. He was trying to see if he could send his army of sharingan, and possibly rennigan users here.

Kakashi had much to think about, and with someone as sharp as the Kazekage, Kakashi had to appear calm and collected before he had any meetings with Gaara. No one could know about Naruto; at least not until they had more information and he came to a decision on what to do with Naruto. He had sworn a pledge to protect Konoha, and if he had to, he would protect it from Naruto's possible Uchiha children any means possible.

* * *

_**A/N: **_So I hope I didn't cop out with Minuial killing the Nazgûl. I've had many a discussion with people over the "no man can kill the witch king," and after one discussion it was suggested that Eowyn was able to kill it because she was the only one that _dared_ to, not solely because she was a woman—because that _would_ be cop out. So it was tricky and subtle, but I hope you all are able to pick up on the intentions I gave the characters as they fought the Ring Wraiths. Also, the void battle is the battle of wills that I'm going to say Eowyn went through too because that is way too simple otherwise.

Next chapter will be in Rivendell, unless you guys want to have the four days and week of travel written out wherein everyone blames themselves for what happened with Minuial. … I'll just assume you won't want to read that, and that is why my outline went to crap because originally Dawn and Tinnu would have had an epic chase with the Ring Wraiths, but that obviously didn't happen since Sasuke is too broken. So jumping ahead to Rivendell in the next chapter—well, there will be a little travel and an appearance from Glorfindel, but otherwise it's all Rivendell. Thank you for reading ~ with love, depressedchildren.


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